Chapter 191: You Used Them?
Yishu moved first, closing the distance between them in a blurred flash of motion. Before Ningyan could even react, she was standing directly in front of him.
A sharp, inhuman screech tore from her throat as demonic energy burst violently around her, thick black veins crawling up her neck.
The sight was eerily familiar, chillingly reminiscent of the presence Yan Qinghe had projected back at Sunland City.
Ningyan didn’t flinch.
He raised his hand and blocked.
The impact rang through the corridor, demonic energy crashing against his barrier before dispersing uselessly.
He didn’t even move.
A single pulse of force sent her flying back. She slammed into the wall and crashed straight through it.
The next chamber erupted into chaos as servants stumbled back in shock, candles flickering wildly from the impact.
Ningyan stepped through the broken wall, his expression cold, controlled.
"Where are the children?" he demanded, his voice sharp enough to cut through the room. "What is happening here?"
The servants froze in place, exchanging panicked, confused glances as the reality of the situation set in. It was clear they hadn’t expected this, they hadn’t expected her to lose, especially not this easily.
Across the room, Yishu forced herself up, breathing hard, her red eyes locked onto him, this time with something closer to disbelief.
"You’re... a divine beast?" she asked, her voice strained.
Ningyan didn’t answer. He walked toward her slowly. Each step heavier than the last as his presence began to bleed into the space, thick, suffocating, impossible to ignore.
He crouched in front of her, meeting her gaze directly. Those glowing purple eyes were no longer calm. They were cold and demanding. "Why are you trying to kill me?"
Yishu scoffed, turning her head away.
Ningyan exhaled softly.
"Right," he murmured.
He stood and with a flick of his hand, his essence wrapped around her, lifting her clean off the ground, suspending her midair.
Then, a sharp crack split the air as her leg twisted at an unnatural, sickening angle. A raw scream tore from her throat, echoing through the room and shattering the stunned silence of the servants.
"There are lines," Ningyan spoke quietly, his voice neither rising in anger nor shaking with effort. Yet, despite his calm, the pressure in the room deepened until the very air felt heavy and suffocating. "Lines you don’t cross. You said you would take care of them."
His hand lifted slowly. "And yet... you chose this."
His essence rushed forward, slipping past her defenses effortlessly, burrowing deep into her beast core.
Her eyes snapped wide in horror. "No..."
"What did you do to the children?!"
Yishu screamed. Her body arched violently as the energy wrapped tighter, digging in, crushing, tearing through her control.
"I told you—!" she gasped, choking on her own breath. "The children were sent back... back to their clans...so they could grow properly...!"
Ningyan’s grip tightened. A crack echoed faintly.
Yishu shrieked, blood spilling from the corners of her eyes. "No...no, please! Have mercy...!"
"Do not make me repeat myself." This time, his voice dropped to a sound of finality, leaving no room for argument or escape.
Her body trembled violently, breaths coming in broken gasps.
"Demon qi," she choked out. "I... needed connections... power... if Lan Yunlai takes over.."
The pressure increased. Another crack.
Her scream tore through the chamber.
"You used them?!" Ningyan snapped.
The entire room shook as his control slipped, sending a violent burst of energy exploding outward through the chamber. The servants didn’t even have time to react before they were simply gone, disintegrated into nothingness by the sheer force of the blast.
Silence crashed down just as quickly.
Tears blurred Ningyan’s vision now, pure, unfiltered rage filling his veins. "You used the children?"
Yishu’s face was soaked in blood, her eyes, nose, ears, all of it. Her voice broke as she screamed,
"Demon tools need power!" she cried. "They need blood...!"
Her breath hitched violently.
"And I needed strength! I needed more than just being the one everyone comes to for information!" Her expression twisted, desperate, unhinged. "I have the right to be more! I have the right to survive!"
"So," Ningyan said slowly, his eyes trembling faintly, "you used the blood of the children you were supposed to protect."
Another crack.
Yishu choked, a mouthful of blood spilling as her body collapsed to the floor.
He let her fall.
She writhed weakly, barely holding herself together as Ningyan stepped closer.
"The other three," he said. "Hai Miao... where are they?"
Yishu’s blood-soaked gaze lifted to him.
"I..." she coughed violently, her body shaking. "The guards... they can lead you..."
Ningyan didn’t question it. At this point, truth or lie didn’t matter.
He would tear this entire place apart if he had to.
"...Do not blame Meishan," she rasped weakly. "He trusted me. They all did. I just needed power... and even with it, i..."
She didn’t get to finish.
Ningyan’s essence wrapped around her core and crushed it completely. A final scream tore from her throat before she collapsed in on herself and fell silent.... Dead.
Ningyan turned away immediately. He stepped out into the corridor just as a group of guards rushed toward him, drawn by the disturbance.
They stopped the moment they saw him.
Some hesitated. Others raised their weapons.
Ningyan moved. A single wave of his hand and the ones who moved against him were erased.
The rest froze, terrified.
"The children," he said. "Where are they?"
The guards lowered their heads instantly.
The guards lowered their heads instantly and turned to lead the way, moving fast through another wing of the manor. They hurried down a narrow corridor toward a set of stairs that led deep underground.
The air grew colder and darker, a shift he didn’t like one bit. The door creaked open, and there they were.
Three small figures were huddled in the corner, their robes filthy and skin smeared with dirt. They were far too quiet and far too still.
Ningyan stopped as the glow around his body faded, disappearing completely. One of the figures lifted his head, hazel serpent eyes wide and unbelieving as Hai Miao’s voice broke.
"...Beautiful master?" Hai Miao’s voice broke.
Ningyan moved instantly, crossing the space in a single breath to pull him into his arms. Hai Miao clung to him and broke, sobs tearing out of him as his small body shook violently.
Ningyan’s own vision blurred as he held the boy tighter, then he looked up at the other two children. A girl with bright white hair and ocean-blue eyes sat beside a companion with soft green hair and matching pale green eyes, both of them staring at him in a silent, trembling wait.
Ningyan dropped to his knees and opened his arms, simply saying, "Come here." They didn’t hesitate, running into him until the room filled with quiet, broken cries.