Chapter 2: Extermination

This time, Luo Wushuang didn’t even bother with suspicion because she simply didn’t believe a word of it.

Only two hours ago, Shangguan Liqian had been plotting her escape. If Luo Wushuang hadn’t been prepared, the woman might have actually succeeded for once, after countless failed attempts.

Liqian’s preparations this time had been incredibly thorough.

She had not only drugged the Empress with Weak-bone Powder but had also disguised herself as Leng Yu, one of the Empress’s personal guards. She had even used the Imperial Jade Seal to stamp several blank edicts, clearly planning to facilitate her flight from the capital.

It was only thanks to Luo Wushuang’s formidable willpower that she had managed to crawl out of the bedchamber—utterly disregarding her imperial dignity—to stop her. Otherwise, the woman would have vanished without a trace long ago. She certainly wouldn’t be lying here, acting so obedient.

Now, she claimed she wouldn’t run again? Luo Wushuang didn’t buy it for a second.

Scanning Liqian’s weary and exhausted expression, Luo Wushuang scoffed inwardly.

Sister is clearly only staying put because I’ve worn her out until she can’t move…

Otherwise… as long as she had an ounce of strength, as long as she wasn’t bound by these chains, she would have disappeared over the horizon long ago.

Facing the blatant distrust in Luo Wushuang’s eyes, Shangguan Liqian wasn’t surprised at all. She merely looked at that cold, bloodthirsty, yet beautiful young face with a mix of guilt and heartache.

In her previous life, Luo Wushuang hadn’t actually imprisoned her at first. She had simply kept Liqian by her side wherever she went. Even during court sessions, she would have people watching her every move.

Liqian had been unable to stomach that suffocating possessiveness, which was why she had taken a desperate risk to cooperate with the ambitious Shangguan family.

Shangguan Qingyun, her father in name only, had promised her that as long as she pleased the Empress and secured enough benefits for the clan, he would use the family’s influence to help her escape the Empress’s control.

But later…

Shangguan Qingyun seemed to have “forgotten” his promise. He constantly demanded she exert herself for the clan’s sake, but whenever she mentioned her freedom, he remained silent.

Even so, she had held onto a shred of hope. She thought that once the Shangguan family was strong enough, they would surely…

Unfortunately, after all that waiting, the only thing she received in the end was a cup of poisoned wine.

Perhaps fearing she wouldn’t stay dead, Shangguan Qingyun had chosen a particularly potent toxin. The moment she drank it, she felt as if her internal organs were exploding with pain.

Yet her relatives, people who shared her blood, simply watched with cold indifference. From beginning to end, not a single person spoke up against her murder, nor did they offer even a glance of regret.

At that moment, her heart had died completely.

It turned out that she was the only one who had ever considered them family.

The only reason their attitude toward her had softened later on was for the sake of their own profit. It was laughable that she had never once suspected their motives.

After her death, perhaps because her resentment was too heavy, she never saw the Messengers of Death arrive to take her soul.

She wanted to leave that house of sin and calculation, but she couldn’t. Every time her spirit drifted toward the gates, a mysterious force dragged her back.

She remained trapped until Luo Wushuang appeared at the Shangguan estate, clad in blood-red battle armor and followed by her personal guards.

By then, the Shangguan family had long been in league with Prince An. Feeling that their wings had fully grown, they hadn’t initially taken Luo Wushuang seriously, believing she was an Empress on the verge of falling from grace.

She’s just a lovestruck fool whose head is filled with nothing but a woman. What could she possibly achieve?

That thought lasted exactly until Luo Wushuang decapitated the old patriarch of the Shangguan family with a single stroke of her sword.

Meeting the Empress’s blood-red eyes, the rest of the family couldn’t help but stumble back, paralyzed with terror.

With no one left to block her path, Luo Wushuang hurried toward Liqian’s cold corpse under the protection of her guards.

Perhaps curious about what she would do, the ghostly Shangguan Liqian hesitated for a moment before floating over.

Looking at Liqian’s slumped form on the floor, Luo Wushuang knelt without the slightest hesitation. The moment her fingertips touched Liqian’s icy cheek, her body stiffened, and she violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Sister, wake up! Open your eyes and look at me! Look at me!”

“If you wake up, I’ll never make you sad again. I’ll do whatever you want, I’ll follow your every wish, alright…?”

“You are not allowed to die!”

Watching Luo Wushuang’s trembling body and the tears streaming from her eyes, Liqian felt a sudden, sharp pang in her chest.

She was dead, and yet the only person crying for her, the only one grieving, was the very person she had spent her life trying to escape.

Looking at the Empress whose entire world was centered on her, seeing her driven to the brink of madness by her death, Liqian’s heart was deeply shaken.

It turned out she was loved. Someone actually cared for her.

Thinking back, she realized that rather than being used and tortured by the Shangguan family, she would have been better off staying by Luo Wushuang’s side. At the very least, when she wasn’t trying to run away, the Empress was actually quite gentle—nearly subservient to her every whim.

Unfortunately, her realization had come too late.

She was dead, and Luo Wushuang had gone completely insane.

That night, the entire Shangguan manor was filled with wails and pleas for mercy. Blood soaked the ground; severed heads and limbs littered the courtyard.

“Sister, don’t be afraid. I’ll be with you soon. Just wait for me…”

Luo Wushuang muttered under her breath, her footsteps staggering as she walked out.

Sister didn’t want her in life, but she intended to haunt her in death. She was just that selfish.

Luo Wushuang laughed even as she cried. Soon. It would be very soon. Once she finished arranging their funeral affairs, she would go find her sister…

The path to the Yellow Springs was so dark. Without her, her sister would be frightened.

In truth, the ghostly Shangguan Liqian was already quite frightened.

While it felt satisfying to see Luo Wushuang slaughter the cold-blooded Shangguan family, Liqian realized that as a ghost, she was tethered to the estate.

Now, Luo Wushuang had exterminated the entire Shangguan line. She hadn’t even spared the dogs. She had even ordered her men to pour boiling water into the ant nests.

Oh, and the earthworms? They had been split vertically down the middle.

It was fair to say that not a single living thing remained in the Shangguan household.

If the Empress left, wouldn’t Liqian be left here to die of fright?

She was already a ghost. If she died of fright again, she didn’t even want to know what she would turn into.