"This is bad!"
Chai Xiaomi's face looked awful. She grabbed his arm, pulled it toward her, and snatched the silver piece.
Her movements were swift and fluid, her fingers nimble. Where were the signs of her hands being broken and injured?
"Um, it seems my hands have healed on their own." She rotated her wrists in embarrassment, then put on a stern face and spoke seriously. "Wounds on the lips heal quickly anyway, and I refuse to eat those squirming bugs. If you show me such bloody scenes again, I won't like you anymore."
Won't like... you anymore.
Wu Li's pupils contracted sharply, the acupoints all over his body feeling as if they were nailed shut by ice needles.
A clear tearing sound seemed to echo from his heart. A fierce, malevolent energy surged up from within him, rushing straight to the top of his skull. A violent headache exploded instantly, as if thousands of threads were wrapping around his neck, choking his gradually weakening breath.
This was the backlash of the Love Gu.
The entire poisonous scorpion had been planted inside her. Logically, she should only be repeatedly expressing her deep affection for him.
But now she had actually spoken words that went against the will of the Love Gu, so this powerful backlash could only be borne by the caster alone.
What is more, he was not just the caster.
He had also planted the same Gu in himself.
What he had to endure was naturally double the backlash.
In the shamanic Gu tribe, the Love Gu was originally just an ordinary Gu technique. The reason he was willing to feed this poisonous scorpion with his own purest blood was precisely because the Twin Love Gu he refined was completely different from the ordinary ones.
This Gu needed to be planted in two people.
The first person implanted would develop a clear poisonous scorpion tattoo on the back of their hand, and the second person only needed to drink the first person's blood.
From then on, the two would be drawn to each other, sinking in so deeply they could not extricate themselves.
And he, as the caster, was above the Gu poison and would not suffer any harm.
All of this was originally the most interesting part of his meticulously planned revenge.
First planting the Love Gu in Song Yueyao, then taking her blood. He only needed to bring it to Lingyu Province and quietly slip it into that heartless man's food and drink. This was not a difficult task.
Next, he would get his wish and witness with his own eyes his father and brother, whom he had never met, turn against each other.
This was the cruelest revenge. Such an ultimate betrayal against human nature was something probably no one could bear.
The sight of father and son killing each other must be absolutely spectacular, right?
He often wondered with great interest: in the end, who would kill who first?
Whether it was patricide or filicide, it would ultimately drag both of them into hell together to taste the sorrow of absolute despair.
And Song Yueyao was merely the only sacrifice in this revenge. To gain her trust and affection, to smoothly plant the Gu and extract blood, he had to repeatedly wear a gentle, hypocritical mask to approach her and spend time with her.
Yes, he was inherently such a ruthless and vicious monster.
To achieve his goals, he never hesitated to use any means necessary.
He never liked giving people a quick end. He preferred watching his prey struggle in front of him, gradually falling into despair during a long torment, and ultimately dying in agony.
Chai Xiaomi's likes and dislikes were always written on her face. Her fondness for Song Yueyao and Jiang Zhiyu was so obvious, and she was getting closer to them. If she knew that in his eyes they were all just prey, how could she spare even a bit of liking for him?
But she clearly... did not know his true face yet.
How could she say such words?
Furthermore, by now she should have been completely controlled by the Love Gu and totally immersed in it.
She should only be murmuring over and over that she liked him.
Why...
Why would she say she did not like him?
Wu Li's gaze suddenly swept to the corner. The rosewood box had been knocked open at one corner earlier, and inside lay a jade hair stick, glowing with a moist luster and an ethereal aura. It was no ordinary ornament, but a protective magical artifact.
What a... grand gesture.
Fireworks and treasures.
He certainly knew how to win a woman's favor.
But so what?
Could it compare to the Gu he had fed with his own blood and carefully nurtured?
"You cannot do that," he said, raising his hand. His fingertips gently brushed over the silver hair stick in Chai Xiaomi's hair. Enduring wave after wave of the Love Gu's backlash, his face gradually turned pale, and a fine cold sweat seeped out on his forehead, yet his voice carried an almost eerie calmness.
"You cannot say you do not like me. You should say you like me." He suddenly leaned closer, lowering his eyelids. His gaze lingered on her lips for a moment, as if carefully tracing every contour with his eyes.
A very shallow kiss fell, as light as the wind touching ripples, yet intertwined with endless romance.
Chai Xiaomi was startled, thinking he was going to bite her viciously again. Just as she was about to dodge backward, he had already pulled away.
The kiss was very brief, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
The tiny bead of blood oozing from the wound on her lip was now on his lips, and he slowly curled it in with the tip of his tongue.
As if tasting the most delicious delicacy in the world, he curled his lips in slight satisfaction. His deep, heterochromatic eyes locked onto her unblinkingly as he whispered coaxingly, "Be good, say you like me... say it seriously."
Chai Xiaomi looked into his eyes, where an unusual obsession and longing flickered.
A sickly yet charming smile appeared on his pale face. As devout as a believer, he was waiting for his final verdict.
It was as if, should she say she did not like him one more time.
He would completely fall into a bottomless abyss.
Never to be reincarnated for all eternity.
It would not be his body that died, but his soul.
Chai Xiaomi suddenly felt her heartbeat become a little erratic. She did not know if it was because of that brief yet cherished light kiss, or because of his gaze right now that could almost burn through a person.
In the very beginning, she could say she liked him without hesitation. Even the most exaggerated words could blurt out, but that was just to stay alive, so she could lie without changing her expression, without blushing or her heart skipping a beat.
"I..."
But at this moment.
It was as if a little deer had broken into the wilderness of her heart, running wildly and recklessly. She tried desperately to chase it, but could not catch up no matter what.
Her cheeks inexplicably grew hot, and even her breathing became shy.
She prided herself on acting recklessly, often relying entirely on clumsy, solitary courage. Even though she was a southern girl born in the water towns of Jiangnan, she occasionally had the temperament of a bold northern tomboy in her bones.
But she never expected that just a few words would entangle her entire heart.
It was as if something went bang and completely exploded in her mind, spreading layer by layer like bubbles in sparkling water, recklessly flooding her heart, her eyes, and her whole world.
She inexplicably remembered a junior schoolmate who had once stopped her on her way back to the dorm. At the time, he had carefully prepared flowers, balloons, and a handwritten love letter.
His tone trembled with panic, his hands not knowing where to rest. He did not know what he was fussing over, and finally just said, "Senior... you... you better just read the letter..."
At that time, Chai Xiaomi did not quite understand.
The person was clearly standing right in front of her, so why did he not say it himself instead of making her read a letter?
In this moment, she suddenly understood.
When you truly fall in love with someone, you become cowardly.
You become anxious and cautious, weighing every word of your deepest, truest secrets as if it were unimaginably heavy, cherishing it like a priceless jewel.
"I like you."
She suddenly looked up, her gaze crashing straight into his mismatched eyes. Her voice held a clear, unwavering certainty it had never possessed before.
"Lili, I like you the most. I only like you."
Those pitch-black almond eyes were crystal clear, more dazzling than a sky full of stars, their brilliant, shimmering light falling unreservedly into the depths of the boy's eyes.
In that instant.
It was as if a firework had suddenly exploded in his eyes.
The blazing light illuminated the entire damp, dark night, lingering long after.
Stretching on until death, fierce and pure.
