Chapter 12

Her voice flowed slowly like drowning water, as if dark tentacles reaching out from an infinite hell, burrowing into Li Jiangying’s ears and binding her tightly.

Something was wrong with the Little Madwoman!

Li Jiangying subconsciously held her breath, motionless, staring intently at Li Yueying.

She saw Li Yueying, disheveled and wretched, rise with a graceful and composed elegance.

She raised a hand and swept the bangs from her face, tucking them behind her ear. Those large, round, wine-red eyes that were usually wide open were now slightly narrowed—just as Li Jiangying had once imagined, seductive and soul-snatching.

She was already beautiful. It was just that, most of the time, her foolish, besotted state undercut her aura, diverting attention from her looks to her madness.

But right now, she acted like a normal person. Standing amidst the ruins, her posture upright, her expression cool and aloof—the longer one looked, the more captivated and awed they became by her breathtaking, icy beauty.

Once your eyes landed on her, you couldn’t look away. Li Jiangying observed her meticulously, even noticing something she’d previously overlooked—a tiny mole hidden on her left eyelid, visible only when her eye was open, vanishing when she looked down.

“Li Jiangying.” She stood in place and suddenly revealed a mocking smile. “Am I that beautiful?”

Li Jiangying: I feel targeted, but I don’t dare say it. She could only nod with a fawning smile.

Li Yueying let out a soft laugh, laced with sarcasm. She strode towards Li Jiangying, unhurried and confident.

The long robe she wore was the same one from when she was half-human, half-snake. It covered her upper body well enough, but beneath, there was naturally nothing. With every step, the hem fluttered back and forth, revealing glimpses of those jade-white legs.

Li Jiangying silently straightened her arms, attempting to stand up—her current height was… a bit dangerous.

But before she could act on this thought, the woman who’d been slowly, leisurely scanning her up and down with intentional, unintentional glances materialized before her like a phantom.

Halfway up, Li Jiangying was so startled she fell back down to the floor. “You know, people scaring people can scare someone to death.”

Li Yueying bent her knees into a half-crouch before her, left elbow resting on her knee, chin propped on her palm. She tilted her head, one corner of her lips curving up. Those blood-hued eyes, hazy as mist, sank deep into memory, unfathomably profound. Her long, curled lashes trembled slightly. She said, “Li Jiangying, do you know what I want to do to you most right now?”

Li Jiangying answered obediently, “Whatever you have to say, just say it plainly.” Facing the Devil Venerable, I’m meek and submissive. Facing the Little Madwoman, I strike with full force. Li Yueying, if you dare do anything bad to me, just wait until you turn back into the Little Madwoman—I’ll make sure you learn exactly why flowers are so red!

The woman sitting on the ground braced her hands behind her, frozen in place by the danger her instincts perceived. She’d always been good at acting, easily winning affection and sympathy.

But Li Yueying would no longer be so easily fooled by her. Even as she sat obediently before her, head bowed as if resigned to her fate, Li Yueying knew better than anyone that her mind was certainly churning with infuriating thoughts again.

So Li Yueying reached out and pinched her chin, tilting it up. Seeing her expression suddenly turn odd as she zoned out for a second, Li Yueying grew even more restless and resentful, hating that she could never fully grasp her thoughts.

But in truth, Li Jiangying was just thinking: So domineering CEO. Kind of takes me out of the moment.

Li Jiangying slightly lowered her gaze, avoiding direct eye contact. Her vanished but not forgotten experience told her that when a wild beast was angry, direct eye contact equaled provocation.

“Why don’t you dare look at me?” There was laughter in Li Yueying’s tone. “Afraid of me?”

Li Jiangying’s eyelids fluttered as she glanced at her furtively, mumbling, “A little.”

“You actually know your place.” As Li Yueying spoke, that mocking, sarcastic smirk on her face suddenly vanished, replaced by a cold, obsessive, hateful smile. Her hand tightened. “There’s only one thing I want to do right now: kill you!”

A sharp pain shot through her chin, as if the bone was about to be crushed. Li Jiangying’s face instantly turned white. The overwhelming killing intent bore down on her like a savage beast, making her whole body tremble uncontrollably.

She was going to die. She really wanted to kill her!

The hatred in her eyes was real. The obsession was real too—like threads entangled for countless eons, inseparable.

Li Jiangying’s heart pounded furiously. Under that paralyzing killing intent, she desperately grabbed her wrist and shouted, “Wait!”

“What, want to beg for mercy?” Li Yueying looked at her as if watching a clown struggling on the brink of death.

That gaze, like a branding iron, seared deep into Li Jiangying’s heart. All she wanted was to live—what wrong had she done?

But she had no power to resist. She was a weak, insignificant ant. “You can’t kill me.”

“Why?” Li Yueying waited to see what sophistry she could still come up with.

Perhaps it was because, at the critical moment between life and death, extreme tension rebounds. Suddenly, in that instant, Li Jiangying’s frantic heartbeat became regular. She calmed down. Fear and anxiety were locked away in a corner of her mind by an invisible barrier.

Li Jiangying said, “Because you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

Li Yueying was so furious she laughed. Sharp fangs pierced her own lip, a bead of blood trembling at the tip. She laughed in extreme anger. “You tell me! If you’re not Li Jiangying, then who are you?! You dare say I can’t recognize you?!”

Li Jiangying smiled. “Then tell me—what makes you so sure I’m Li Jiangying?”

“That face of yours—I will never forget it, not for all eternity.” Li Yueying said in a deep, somber voice. The way she looked at her truly seemed as if she wanted to drag her into endless hell, forever. Obsessively.

Li Jiangying was silent for a moment. Truly the worst-case scenario. Fortunately, I already guessed this much.

Pretending to be someone else was absolutely out of the question—wouldn’t that just give her the perfect excuse to attack?

“To be honest, I’m not Li Jiangying. I’m her twin sister!” She said with composure. “It’s quite embarrassing to look this alike, but my beloved sister, unfortunately, passed away from a severe illness. Before she died, she begged me to go to one specific place: the Moon Shadow Devil Palace.”

The look in Li Yueying’s eyes was filled with confusion, bewilderment, and fury at being toyed with: “Between you and me, who’s the lunatic here?”

Li Jiangying was overcome with grief. “I came here with only one goal: to personally say ‘I’m sorry’ to you in Li Jiangying’s stead.”

Li Yueying: “…”

The baleful aura grew thicker and thicker, like a demon crawling out of hell. With a terrifying look, Li Yueying released her chin, but in the next instant, that long, jade-like hand moved to her throat.

“Li Jiangying, you—!” Li Yueying had just snarled her name, ready to take her life, when she was interrupted by an intruder.

“Your Highness!”

It was Liang Yiman who burst in frantically, saving Li Jiangying’s life. Gasping for breath and burning with urgency, she cried, “Solitary Mountain Devil Venerable is here!”

Li Yueying’s attention was drawn. For a moment, she forgot about strangling Li Jiangying. Maintaining the throat-grabbing pose, she turned her head towards Liang Yiman and frowned. “Why panic? I am here.”

Li Jiangying cricked her neck, scratching her chin.

It was then that Liang Yiman suddenly realized the Devil Venerable before her was quite different from usual—the main difference being her intelligence was normal. Joy immediately appeared on her face, but she quickly dropped to one knee: “Your Highness, please forgive this subordinate’s rudeness.”

Li Jiangying switched hands to continue propping herself up.

“No need for formalities.” Li Yueying said in a deep voice. “Speak freely.”

Only then did Liang Yiman urgently report the matter. It turned out a Devil Venerable had suddenly arrived outside. Without even a greeting, he’d tried to force his way into the Moon Shadow Devil Palace. Cui Yu and the others were stalling for time at the front, and Liang Yiman had rushed over to see if Li Yueying’s Human Form Transformation had succeeded.

Li Jiangying pinched her nose, holding back a sneeze.

Just as Liang Yiman finished her report, Li Jiangying heard a sudden, thunderous, rumbling voice above, piercing through three floors, deafening, filling every corner of the Moon Shadow Devil Palace.

It was a rough, boorish male voice: “Moon Shadow Devil Venerable! This old man comes to visit, and you won’t even see me? That’s far too discourteous! If you don’t come out, this old man will have to come in and look around personally!”

Li Yueying’s face turned grim. She let go of Li Jiangying’s throat, shot her a fierce glare that seemed to say Just you wait, then turned and strode out with purpose.

Li Jiangying took a deep breath. Unable to endure it any longer, she shouted at her retreating back: