Chapter 46: Revenge! Slaying the Enemy
Walking up to Shen Ling’an, dagger raised, Xu Qingsui shot a pointed glance at Xu Ruming and deliberately broke into a wicked smile.
Xu Ruming’s eyes widened at the sight of Xu Qingsui’s smile. She pointed a finger and shouted, "Look at her eyes! She’s about to do something terrible! You can’t let her—"
Before Xu Ruming could finish, the dagger in Xu Qingsui’s hand plunged downward.
SHK!
The sound of the sharp blade piercing flesh rang out with chilling clarity.
Everyone, whose attention had been captured by Xu Ruming’s cries, instantly whipped their heads around to look at Xu Qingsui.
The sharp tip of the dagger sank into Shen Ling’an’s chest without any resistance.
In an instant, the snow-white protective suit was soaked a deep, bloody red.
As the bloodstain on the suit continued to spread, the other team members looked at Xu Qingsui with growing confusion.
’Could Xu Qingsui really be abusing her position to settle a personal score? Is she using this chance to kill Shen Ling’an?’
The complicated history of grievances between Xu Qingsui, Shen Ling’an, and Xu Ruming had been the talk of the town ever since the latter two officially joined the Heiyu Alliance.
Morally speaking, the cheating couple had been disloyal and unjust. Any retribution they faced would be well-deserved.
But there was a time and a place for such things. Right now, they were in the middle of an instance, and two of their team members were already missing.
Under the circumstances, both logic and common sense dictated that completing the instance should be the top priority.
After all, every extra person increased their hope of clearing the instance.
Therefore, for Xu Qingsui to be taking revenge on Shen Ling’an at this moment was an unwise choice that no one could condone.
The expressions on the team members’ faces began to shift. Xu Ruming took it all in, having long forgotten Shen Ling’an’s well-being, and felt a bizarre sense of excitement.
’I can finally ruin Xu Qingsui’s reputation with good reason and make everyone see her differently.’
’But it’s not enough for just the team members to change their minds. The most important one is Lu Jingyu!’
Overcome with excitement, Xu Ruming’s gaze flickered towards Lu Jingyu.
But a single glance was all it took for the excitement to freeze on her face.
Lu Jingyu was indeed watching Xu Qingsui, but his eyes held no trace of displeasure. On the contrary, they held a hint of admiration.
It was as if Xu Qingsui’s actions were precisely to his liking.
"She... Ah!"
Anxious, Xu Ruming rushed in front of Lu Jingyu, wanting to force him to see what Xu Qingsui was doing.
But before she could open her mouth, a piercing scream erupted from behind her.
Xu Ruming spun around in astonishment, her pupils instantly dilating.
She saw that Xu Qingsui hadn’t pulled back after stabbing Shen Ling’an in the chest; instead, she was gripping the hilt and twisting the blade inside him.
The already blood-soaked protective suit was being shredded and torn by the motion.
Through the tattered opening, one could clearly see the mangled flesh within.
When Xu Ruming saw this, her mind went blank for a moment. Then, a single thought surfaced: ’Xu Qingsui is insane.’
’This is tantamount to murder and desecration.’
’I could never bring myself to do something like that,’ Xu Ruming thought.
’But this confirms it. This solidifies the fact that Xu Qingsui is a murderer. She’ll never be able to clear her name now.’
At this thought, Xu Ruming’s eyes lit up again.
She looked back at the surrounding team members, expecting to see looks of disgust directed at Xu Qingsui.
But as she looked up, she found herself rubbing her eyes.
’What’s going on?’
’Why is everyone looking so surprised?’
It was only then that Xu Ruming registered the piercing scream.
’It sounds... familiar!’
Her eyes followed the sound to its source, and as she found it, she was stunned once again.
Shen Ling’an, who had been at death’s door just moments ago, had now opened his eyes.
Though his face was still deathly pale, his screams were fierce and powerful—nothing like the sounds of a dying man.
Xu Qingsui didn’t stop until Shen Ling’an, gritting his teeth, raised a hand and grabbed her wrist.
"Isn’t that enough?"
The three words seemed to drain all of Shen Ling’an’s strength.
Before Xu Qingsui could answer, a large hand with long, slender fingers reached out.
It brushed Shen Ling’an’s hand aside, then enclosed Xu Qingsui’s, guiding her to pull the dagger free.
Xu Qingsui looked at the hand holding hers, her gaze traveling up the arm until it landed on Lu Jingyu.
"That’s enough. He’s awake now, anyway. If you keep going, you’ll just dirty your hands."
As he spoke, Lu Jingyu took the dagger with one hand and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket with the other, gently wiping the blood spatter from Xu Qingsui’s skin.
A warm feeling spread through Xu Qingsui’s chest as she felt Lu Jingyu’s gentle touch.
The other team members who witnessed this scene all blushed and turned away, though they couldn’t resist sneaking glances.
’This is such a rare sight!’
’When have we ever seen Captain Lu act like this?’
Watching this, Xu Ruming felt a heavy weight settle in her chest.
But she was in no position to say anything, so she could only turn her attention to Shen Ling’an.
"Ling’an, how are you? Are you feeling any discomfort?"
Xu Ruming deliberately raised her voice, drawing everyone’s eyes back to them.
She felt a little better when she caught a glimpse of Xu Qingsui snapping to her senses and hastily pulling her hand away from Lu Jingyu’s.
Shen Ling’an’s face grew even paler, but his spirits seemed fine.
"I’m fine now, but I need to stop the bleeding immediately, or I’ll bleed to death."
Only then did Xu Ruming snap out of it. She personally took out a styptic potion and bandages to dress Shen Ling’an’s wound.
Up close, Xu Ruming could even see the nerve fibers buried in Shen Ling’an’s mangled flesh.
A wound like this was clearly meant to be fatal.
But for some unknown reason, not only was Shen Ling’an fine, but the wound had somehow cured the poison in his system and woken him up.
The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. In that moment, Xu Ruming actually found herself wishing Shen Ling’an would just die.
HISS!
Her emotions in turmoil, Xu Ruming lost control of her strength for a moment, causing Shen Ling’an to hiss in a sharp breath of pain.
Seeing Shen Ling’an’s face twist in agony, Xu Ruming snapped back to her senses and hastily softened her touch as she continued to treat his wound.
"Our guide is truly magnanimous! To think she’d save the very person who hurt her!"
"I know, right? Then you have someone else who’s not only incompetent and almost caused a disaster, but also had the nerve to slander our guide."
"If you ask me, that’s just her true nature. We’ll have to be more careful around her from now on."
Xu Qingsui pulling Shen Ling’an back from the brink of death did a great deal to diffuse the tense, oppressive atmosphere.
Everyone gradually relaxed and began to murmur amongst themselves.
The topic of conversation, naturally, was everything that had just happened.
Out of their displeasure with Xu Ruming, no one bothered to lower their voices, and every one of their comments fell clearly on her ears.
Each word was like a hammer blow, striking Xu Ruming’s heart again and again.
Her face flushed crimson. She secretly clenched her fists and ground her teeth.