Chapter 28
Ling Xu stood upright, her eyes sweeping toward Huan Zheng, who lay weakly on the ground.
Not an ounce of compassion remained in her chest, only a boiling rage, remembering the sharp pain of the stab that pierced her waist.
The pain still lingered, as if the wound had never truly healed, the blood that had poured so freely back then still rushing, soaking the skin with its raw, iron-like hue.
The memories clearly fueled her anger, making her unwilling to hear any more whimpers or apologies, especially if they came from Huan Zheng.
A bluish tint crept across Huan Zheng's entire body; the Mustraya poison he had brewed himself now worked perfectly, corroding every breath and darkening his skin, filled with black mist seeping from every pore.
Huan Zheng writhed, his body convulsing, yet Ling Xu only watched with an unmatched, hollow gaze.
Every curse thrown, every harsh insult, failed to reach her heart.
Even cries for mercy passed like the wind, leaving no trace, meaningless.
Ling Xu exhaled slowly, her fingers clenching tightly.
The poison would finish everything.
There was no need to dirty her hands again.
Moreover, Huan Zheng would feel, understand, the depth of suffering, exactly as Ling Xu had when the blade struck from behind, piercing through to the front of her stomach.
At that moment, the blood had flowed so intensely, and the pain had felt utterly real.
Now, it was Huan Zheng's turn to experience relentless pain. And Ling Xu would grant no mercy.
Rather than alleviating his suffering, Ling Xu strengthened the effect, deepening the wound, which had already gaped from the start, ensuring every second felt like endless torment.
The poison worked viciously, destroying from within, marking Huan Zheng's soul to be dragged, forced into the abyss of death only to be held at the edge, repeated mercilessly.
Every pulse of Huan Zheng trembled uncontrollably; his blood flowed sluggishly, poisoned, marking a crucial moment in his life now toyed with by Ling Xu's will.
His skin darkened further, veins protruding like roots, rotting, while his breath came in desperate gasps.
It felt as though he were being torn apart from within, every meridian rebelling repeatedly, yet there was nothing he could do except surrender to the unending agony.
Ling Xu remained unmoved.
She wanted Huan Zheng to feel every second, to understand the pain of betrayal, of being stabbed from behind, left wounded almost to death.
This time, she held the control.
At this moment, Huan Zheng would experience being trapped in merciless suffering.
And the Mustraya poison would ensure everything proceeded according to her design.
Slowly, surely, and without mercy.
Amid the overwhelming, paralyzing pain, something within Huan Zheng stirred.
The secret he had long buried, the reason behind all his betrayals to Ling Xu, now eroded, repeatedly worn down by the poison's ruthless assault on his consciousness.
The poison did not merely destroy the body but also penetrated the mind, forcing the truth, once tightly hidden, to be vomited out.
Mustraya worked in such a merciless way.
First, it corroded the resilience of the soul, shattering all efforts to endure.
Now, at the brink of death, Huan Zheng could no longer hide the truth he had kept from everyone. His tongue, though naturally stiffened by pain, was forced to move, revealing what Ling Xu should never have heard.
Ling Xu narrowed her eyes.
She did not seek explanation, nor did she expect confession.
Yet the poison compelled Huan Zheng to speak, as if the universe itself willed the truth to be revealed.
The words continued to escape in groans, trembling with fear and regret, clearly too late.
And Ling Xu, with all her burning hatred and vengeance, had to hear them, whether she wished to or not.
Huan Zheng's breath came in repeated gasps, marking the rasp of his voice, yet the words were forced out, revealing a truth buried deep all this time.
He tried to resist, to fight the whispers of Mustraya compelling him to speak, but his strength was nearly depleted.
In the final moments, he realized death would come sooner than he had planned.
And that could not happen.
Not out of fear of death, but because there was something that had to be completed, something far greater than personal revenge, more important than his own life.
A mission from the very beginning, containing secrets even the Exiled Gods had never known.
If he died now, all would be in vain.
Thus, with his last remaining strength, Huan Zheng rebelled, resisting the poison that gripped him.
He did not care if his body shattered, if his suffering increased.
He had to convey the truth to Ling Xu, to tell her before everything became too late.
His tongue moved heavily, his voice repeatedly cracking, yet the words were ultimately spoken.
Not a plea for mercy, not a curse, but something far deeper.
Something that could change the fate of both of them, and the entire world inhabited by the Exiled Gods at this moment.
Ling Xu remained silent.
Each word, forced out by Huan Zheng, felt like a blade, prying away doubts in Ling Xu's mind. 'The annihilation of the mortal world? Humanity's wicked intent?'
How could something so immense be hidden without the knowledge—even of the highest-ranking Exiled Gods?
Huan Zheng's body darkened further, the Mustraya poison consuming the remnants of his life, yet his eyes still burned with final determination.
This was not a confession, merely spoken for the sake of survival.
It was a warning.
A declaration, forced by mortality, yet expressed with a steadfastness that left Ling Xu slightly stunned.
"Being cast into this despicable world was not without reason!"
The words echoed in Ling Xu's mind.
All this time, she had assumed Huan Zheng was merely a cunning traitor, breaking agreements behind her back for personal gain.
But behind it all, something far darker was revealed, a grand conspiracy, possibly involving forces beyond her comprehension.
Ling Xu felt a chill run through her bones, exactly as Huan Zheng revealed the truth, far darker than any shadow she had imagined.
The Exiled, Gods cast aside to live such wretched lives, were not merely remnants of wasted power, but targets, the focus of a massive extermination plan.
And humanity, with all its arrogance and fear, had decided to strike first before it was too late.
Huan Zheng, his voice increasingly hoarse from poison and blood, explained how this plan had long been set in motion.
At least before the arrival of the strange plague, which even caused the bodies of the Gods to collapse one by one, spreading to halt all that existed.
To be continued…