Chapter 161: The Humiliating Death of Ye Wenze!

First Jiangzhou Hospital

Ye Wenze had lain back down. The violent struggle just now had cost him a great deal of blood, and now he lay on the hospital bed, weak and listless, staring at the ceiling. His body felt so exhausted he could barely keep from fainting. Yet he forced himself to stay awake. He had to watch Chen Feng kneel before him. He had to see Chen Feng become just like him—or no, suffer a fate hundreds of times more wretched.

At the moment, Ye Wenze was alone in the entire ward. He had had nurses by his side, but he had long since roared them out.

He wanted nothing more than to be left alone, to quietly imagine all the ways he could torture Chen Feng to death.

Click!

The ward door suddenly opened. Ye Wenze turned his head instinctively and saw An Ran enter, her expression serene. His face darkened at once, and his voice brimmed with resentment. “What are you doing here?”

How could he not resent her? It had all started with An Qiye, that useless fool, throwing his weight around everywhere. If An Qiye hadn’t insisted on racing Lu Ran, Ye Wenze would never have raced Chen Feng. And if he hadn’t raced Chen Feng, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.

“Second Brother Wenze, do you think this is all because of Qiye? That Qiye is the one who ruined you?” An Ran came to the bedside, a sweet smile on her face. Yet behind that sweetness was something that made Ye Wenze’s skin crawl.

In that instant, Ye Wenze felt as if he had come face to face with a venomous snake—the deadliest kind.

“Y-you… What are you going to do?” His voice began to tremble. He suddenly realized that An Ran was not as simple as he had imagined. Her cunning was nothing like the innocence of the cheerful young girl she seemed to be.

Her smile remained exquisitely sweet, the sort that could enchant anyone. But Ye Wenze only grew more terrified. Cold crept up his spine to the crown of his head, as though an icy wind had swept over him. He was afraid—more afraid, even, than when Chen Feng had tortured him.

At least Ye Wenze knew what Chen Feng intended to do. But faced with An Ran, he had no idea what the woman was planning. She was smiling, and her tone was perfectly polite, yet a chill seemed to be invading the depths of his soul.

Then An Ran spoke, her voice still so sweet it was almost cloying. “There are some things I’d like to discuss with you, Second Brother Wenze. Don’t worry. The soundproofing in this ward is excellent, and to protect patients’ privacy, there are no cameras here. We can talk freely.”

Ye Wenze’s pupils contracted. He stared at her. “What… What are you going to do?”

An Ran did not answer. Instead, she said calmly, “People are like that, Second Brother Wenze. They overlook their own mistakes and pin all the blame on others. You’ve blamed everything on Qiye. But have you ever wondered: if not for you, why would anyone have crushed all four of his limbs?”

Ye Wenze’s pupils contracted sharply. An Ran gently placed her right hand against his lower abdomen and smiled. “It never occurred to you, did it, that the fault lay with you and your family all along?”

As she spoke, a thread of icy energy seeped from her palm and entered his lower abdomen. At once, the blazing inner force stored there began to tremble, as though lured by something, then streamed uncontrollably toward her hand.

“An Ran, what are you doing?” Ye Wenze shrieked in desperation. All four of his limbs were useless, but he still had his inner force. Now even that was about to be drained away by An Ran.

“Nothing at all.”

An Ran smiled serenely, like a goddess. But in Ye Wenze’s eyes, she was the most vicious demon in the world.

“My inner force! Why are you absorbing it? That’s impossible! How do you know this technique?” Ye Wenze stared at her in horror, as though he were looking at the most terrifying demon alive.

“I was born with a pure Yin constitution. When Ye Wenbin discovered me, he gave me the Primordial Yin Qi Art. It was incomplete, but a person with a pure Yin constitution could potentially complete it.” An Ran continued to smile at Ye Wenbin, her voice as gentle as a breeze, soothing in a way words could scarcely describe.

“Ye Wenbin saw that possibility, so he had me cultivate it. But he didn’t know that your family’s Yang-based art was meant to complement the Primordial Yin Qi Art. When Ye Wenbin came to practice dual cultivation with me, I unexpectedly learned how your family cultivated its Yang-based art.”

Ye Wenze’s pupils contracted sharply. “So what if you learned it? You can’t cultivate it. You couldn’t possibly have become what you are now!”

“Ye Wenze, you really don’t understand the mysteries of a pure Yin constitution.” An Ran’s smile turned faintly mocking. “I cultivated the Primordial Yin Qi Art, which complements your family’s Yang-based art. To be precise, the Yang-nurturing art should be primary, with the Primordial Yin Qi Art as its supplement. But after I perfected it, I reversed that arrangement and made the Primordial Yin Qi Art the principal method. Naturally, I can draw in your inner force. And after I advanced further in my dual cultivation with Ye Wenbin, I discovered a secret: I could actually sense your thoughts.”

She laughed softly. “Not all your secrets, of course. There are limits. I can sense whether you feel goodwill or malice toward me. But as time went on, I found I could sense more and more.”

Ye Wenze’s pupils contracted violently. His family had never considered An Ran a person, only a vessel for cultivation—first Ye Wenbin’s vessel, and, once he broke through, a vessel for the entire Ye family. She was meant to become an object shared by countless men. Had An Ran learned of that secret?

An Ran continued unhurriedly. “So I had Ye Wenbin practice martial arts in front of me. I watched his techniques and wondered: if I could reconstruct the Primordial Yin Qi Art, why couldn’t I deduce the martial techniques meant to accompany it? I had him demonstrate them before me. Then, whenever we practiced dual cultivation, I would probe his thoughts, analyze his techniques, and eventually work backward from them.”

As she spoke, An Ran gently pressed her left hand against Ye Wenze’s heart. A piercing chill swept through him. It felt as if his heart had frozen solid, as though it could no longer beat.

“The Dark Yin Finger! How do you know the Dark Yin Finger?” Ye Wenze shivered violently, his voice trembling. This was a technique his family had lost long ago. He never imagined An Ran could use it.

“I told you. I deduced it all.” An Ran smiled. “I’ve been clever since I was little. I never forget anything; I only need to see something once to understand it. I’ve studied all sorts of things, and it may seem like a haphazard mix, but from the beginning I’ve been learning with a purpose. Do you know? I’ve only ever lost at one thing in my life: intelligence.”

Her lips curved slightly. “To Chen Feng—the only top scorer in the national college entrance examination. He took that title from me.”

“Chen Feng?” At the sound of that name, Ye Wenze’s pupils contracted, and smoldering hatred flashed in his eyes.

“So you hate Chen Feng to the bone, too?” An Ran’s voice remained sweet. Then she added calmly, “What a pity. You won’t get the chance to take revenge. Even if Ye Wenbin brings Chen Feng back, you won’t be around to see it.”

“An Ran, you’ll get what’s coming to you! If you kill me, you’ll never get away with it. Everyone—everyone will know you did it!” Ye Wenze screamed, his voice torn raw. “You’re finished! You’re finished!”

“I told you—I’ve learned how your family’s techniques work, and I’ve deduced them for myself.” An Ran smiled at him. “I’ve been telling you all along. You know the move called the Emperor’s Burning Body, don’t you?”

Ye Wenze’s pupils contracted violently. The Emperor’s Burning Body was one of the Ye family’s forbidden techniques. Once unleashed, it could multiply one’s power several times over in a short time. But its side effect was unmistakable: anyone who used it was doomed to die.

An Ran smiled. Having drained two-thirds of Ye Wenze’s inner force, she swiftly pressed several points on his body. The force in his lower abdomen began to shudder violently. It grew scorching hot, showing signs of breaking out of control.

“Ye Wenze,” An Ran said with a smile, casually brushing a lock of hair from her forehead. “Thank you for the gift of your inner force.”

With that, An Ran turned and left the ward without a backward glance. Ye Wenze felt heat spreading through his entire body.

(Chapter One. I’m still hoping you’ll spare a few monthly votes. It’s the beginning of the month, so I’m sure many of you have a monthly vote to spare. And if you’re enjoying the story, please consider subscribing. Feng Shao thanks you in advance!)

(To be continued.)