A twelve-and-a-half-million-foot precipice

The cold wind howled fiercely, like the roar of a savage beast, sending chills down one’s spine.

Yun Xueyan opened her eyes and struggled a few times before calmly surveying her surroundings. Her entire body was bound by ropes, and behind her yawned an abyss so deep that a fall would shatter her to pieces.

The wind roared violently, rattling her nerves.

Fear crept into her heart as she glared fiercely at the person standing before her. Her parched throat struggled to produce sound, almost drowned by the wind. “What do you want?”

She then turned to look the other way. Yun Xiyin was still unconscious, also bound. Given the current situation… only one of them could survive.

“What do I want?” The man in front shed his black cloak and turned toward Yun Xueyan. A scar ran from his forehead down to his chin on his delicate face. “I want Duan Nanyu to suffer worse than death!”

His furious roar was terrifying, and whether it was from the biting wind or the madness in his expression, Yun Xueyan shuddered involuntarily.

“What happened to him?” She steadied her voice and asked again, though her eyes kept flicking to the bound figure behind her, her heart suddenly trembling with overwhelming dread.

“He killed the one I loved. He made me watch that person die. That unbearable pain—I will never forget it. And I want him to experience it once as well.” The man’s roar was uncontrolled, his eyes filled with hatred.

“The one you loved?” Yun Xueyan murmured, forcing herself to meet the man’s gaze. “What grudge do you hold against him?”

“Back then, when we tried to assassinate him, we failed. Yu’er was captured by him. He tortured her to death with cruel methods. He’s not even human—he dared to treat a woman so mercilessly!”

Yun Xueyan found it ridiculous. They had gone to assassinate someone and expected mercy? Especially from Duan Nanyu, who was the last person to show any leniency. Just as she was about to respond, a dark figure appeared in the distance, approaching swiftly.

“You brought Duan Nanyu here? You want to use us to get revenge on him?” Yun Xueyan struggled, her voice barely escaping from between clenched teeth. “You’re despicable!”

“Clever.” The man paused, then sneered wickedly. “But perhaps your cleverness ends here today. What a pity…”

Before he finished speaking, Duan Nanyu had already arrived.

“Yan’er…” His voice was filled with piercing sorrow as he looked at Yun Xueyan, his pain spreading swiftly through his heart.

“Release them. I have come. Whatever you intend to do, do it. But don’t harm the women!” His tone was cold, yet his eyes were full of concern for Yun Xueyan.

His eyes narrowed as frost quickly crystallized in them, his gaze turning brutal and bloodthirsty as it fixed on the man before him. “You dared to let me come alone. Now that I am here, what do you intend to do?”

His fists clenched tightly, the sound of his knuckles cracking clear and sharp in the sudden silence.

“Angry?” The man’s aura wavered slightly in fear but he still met Duan Nanyu’s gaze head-on. “Good. Then choose one.”

“Choose what?” Duan Nanyu asked coldly, glancing at the bound Yun Xiyin out of the corner of his eye as he struggled to calm himself and assess the situation.

Between the two women at the cliff’s edge, he could only save one. He... chose Yun Xueyan.

“If you hadn’t killed Yu’er back then, I wouldn’t have to put you in such a predicament today!” The man suddenly spoke, his hatred glaringly clear.

Back then? Yu’er? Duan Nanyu furrowed his brow, a cold light flashing in his eyes. If he remembered correctly, when someone tried to assassinate him, they captured a woman while the man escaped. He had never cared much for those who tried to kill him—there were too many enemies in the world, and he had no time to investigate each one.

So the woman was taken away and imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice’s dungeon. After that, he never inquired further.

A sudden dull ache struck his heart—he had inadvertently dragged Yun Xueyan into this as well.

“One is your princess with the Ninefold Armor, the other is the woman you love. Which will you choose? Is it going to be one life or two? Or will you send her to the underworld?” The threatening voice rang out, forcing Duan Nanyu to recoil in shock.

To the readers:

By popular demand from Baizhuadan, here’s an extra chapter. But it’s after class, so enjoy! (*^__^*) Hehe.