Infinite Slaughter System: I Kill, Therefore I Ascend!-Chapter 228: The Infinite Slaughter Li Clan! 2

Shen Ziyan was led to her room within Li Ling's new estate that was located right in the center of the Middle Layer. Bai Ruyi pushed open her door for her with a light smile on her face, as if the entire thing was amusing to her and she was trying her best to keep her laughter in.

Shen Ziyan's expression was more than gloomy, but utterly despondent. She walked in like a zombie, dazed and confused as if she had lost her purpose in life and was just going through the motions.

Seeing this, Bai Ruyi's smile disappeared as she sized up Shen Ziyan slowly, folding her arms with a look of puzzlement.

"What exactly does he even see in you?" Bai Ruyi asked out loud with a tilted head.

Shen Ziyan heard this and color returned to her eyes as her head slowly turned to Bai Ruyi, her pupils narrowing dangerously. "What did you just say?"

Bai Ruyi raised an eyebrow with amusement. "Oh, now you suddenly have energy again? You have the guts to talk down to me but not to fix your mentality?"

"My mentality? What's wrong with it?" Shen Ziyan asked with furrowed brows, seemingly tolerating Bai Ruyi due to her need for clarification.

Bai Ruyi was left speechless.

"My god, I cannot imagine how sheltered and controlled your upbringing has been if you're this ignorant and close-minded."

Bai Ruyi raised a hand to stop Shen Ziyan, whose expression became ugly as she was about to retort Bai Ruyi's words.

"Look, let's not bother throwing useless insults. Your situation right now is terrible, likely firmly on the path to certain death. If you don't keep quiet and listen, you are going to die without ever achieving what you hope for."

Bai Ruyi's blunt words made Shen Ziyan pause, looking at the sultry Joy Sect Saintess in a new light, the natural disdain she felt for her dissipating slightly.

"Okay, I will listen, but first answer me this. Why are you helping me? Is it not in your best interest for me to continue to make grave errors to fortify your position?" Shen Ziyan asked with puzzlement.

Bai Ruyi was silent for a while before speaking seriously, her smile gone. "Do you know what one of the most dangerous things about our minds is? It is the relationship between precedent and similarity."

"If we had a different husband, one who was even slightly more normal, it would indeed be in my best interest to fight amongst his future harem for position by currying his favor, even if he loved none of us."

Bai Ruyi's lips curled upward in a mocking smile. "But we don't have a normal husband. What we have is a man who kills without reason, has little to no attachments, and only uses us for reproduction, and not even for the pleasure of it, but for progeny."

Bai Ruyi leaned forward with a gleam in her red eyes. "I could plot and plan, tripping you up to make more and more mistakes until he finally loses his patience and kills you… but what then?"

The Joy Sect Saintess leaned back with a calm look on her face. "But that is where precedent comes in. It is hardest for a person to cross a line for the first time, whether it is a matter of temptation, sacrifice, or punishment, but once they've done it once, the second time is always easier, with far fewer barriers."

"That is exactly why, even if most people dislike it, everyone understands the logic of abstinence. It is better to not even do, acknowledge, or try a thing even once because if the temptation to try it again comes, you will have far fewer burdens and qualms than before."

"If Li Ling kills you, he would have crossed the line of uxoricide. Once he does, then killing me would not be as difficult," Bai Ruyi concluded with a simple shrug.

Shen Ziyan was utterly silent now, understanding a bit as to what kind of situation she was in, especially now that she had split from her clan, who were her only backing in this world.

Bai Ruyi saw this and continued, pointing at Shen Ziyan. "And you, as I said, are firmly on the path to death. I can say this because since I have met you, you've basically done everything wrong and taken every wrong step possible from beginning to end."

Shen Ziyan was left speechless by that, but there was a hint of disapproval on her brow, as if she couldn't agree with such a remark.

Bai Ruyi's lips curled up. "I can list each of your transgressions in detail, but I don't have that much time to devote to you. Rather, I will just enlighten you on what you need to do to avoid death, but whatever other fate you get is up to you."

"Firstly, you are too arrogant. He basically summed it up when he rejected your apology, but you have to understand that what we need from him is more pressing than what he needs from us. Not to mention his value to the sect, his reputation, and potential far surpass ours, so the scales of balance tilt heavily in his favor."

Bai Ruyi wiggled her eyebrows. "That means that at all times, you should act like you know that fact, acting obsequious, subservient, and catering to any of his needs at any time, even if it's inconvenient to you or goes against your beliefs."

Shen Ziyan pursed her lips tightly and didn't say a word, but Bai Ruyi noted her resistance.

"Well, I understand you in this regard, actually. You grew up in a relatively prominent clan, raised with an elite upbringing, and when your talent was discovered, you were further vaulted upward in status until you became acting matriarch, with all your clanmates treating you with respect."

Bai Ruyi folded her arms around her torso with a look of bored scrutiny. "You have sat in a position of superiority and authority for a long time, so it's hard to switch it up. Not only that, your sect's Deva Path requires you to be arrogant and overbearing, so you are twice handicapped."

"But make no mistake, you will have to change your mentality and behaviors, because until you work on this, you will not have achieved the basic entry-level requirement to survive by his side, much less obtain what you want or even prosper," she emphasized with a pointed look, and Shen Ziyan slowly nodded after much deliberation.

"Mhm, good. You aren't a total lost cause. After you fix your arrogance, you have to fix your passivity and become proactive. Li Ling is not inclined to give you what you want but will demand what he wants from you."

"Remember, we are in the weaker position, with almost no rights to speak of. He can and will exploit you repeatedly, then throw you away once he's done without even giving you a lick of benefit," Bai Ruyi repeated seriously.

Shen Ziyan hesitated and couldn't help but ask, "Then… how do you solve this problem?"

Bai Ruyi smiled. "By being proactive. We cannot demand what we want from him, and even asking for it might annoy him, so put him in a position where he is more likely to benefit by giving you what you want."

"To do that, you will have to study him intensively, understanding his every desire, like, dislike, and thought process, just so you can cater to his actions and avoid making mistakes."

Shen Ziyan nodded, finding this to be sensible, so she asked, "Then what are his desires and such?"

Bai Ruyi gave Shen Ziyan a look as if she were an idiot. "Do you know how many near-fatal tribulations I had to wade through to develop a preliminary understanding of him? I've already given you more than enough freebies. As for the rest, you will have to risk your own neck to discover them."

Shen Ziyan remained neutral at that, understanding that nothing is given for free indeed. This 'sister-wife' of hers was only going this far out of fear for her own self, not because she cared about her or even wanted anything from her. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Bai Ruyi patted herself down and turned with a sway of her hips, walking out of the room without looking back.

"I'd advise you to stay in here for a week or two to work on what I told you before coming out to try and make amends. If you can't even manage that in this time to preserve your own life and seek benefits, then it will simply be better for me to kill you myself so that you don't sabotage my future," Bai Ruyi paused at the door and half turned her head, speaking in a tone that was surprisingly cold.

Shutting the door behind her, the Joy Sect Saintess left the former Shen Clan Matriarch behind to ruminate in the silence of her quarters, and whether she would become a mainstay of the clan or just a footnote in their history could only be decided by her own actions!