Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Liu Yiyi’s Handiwork

Seeing this, the man’s expression twisted in fury as he lunged at Song Wanning again.

Song Wanning wasn’t having it. She immediately set fire to three of the portraits.

The bright, flickering flames made the man’s eyes ache.

Refusing to accept defeat, he tried to retaliate, but he lunged at empty air every time, forced to watch as over ten portraits burned to cinders.

When he saw that Song Wanning still held over twenty portraits, the man was on the verge of a breakdown.

They were his spiritual anchor in undeath. He had held on this long only by clinging to the memory of his late wife. By destroying her portraits, Song Wanning was clearly trying to break him.

He glared at Song Wanning, gritting his teeth as he finally stopped. "What in the world do you want?"

’If she wanted to kill me, she would have done it already.’

’She wouldn’t be toying with me like this.’

’So she must be after something else.’

Hearing this, the corners of Song Wanning’s lips curved up. "A smart one, aren’t you?"

The flame between her fingers continued to dance, looking as if it might incinerate the remaining portraits at any moment.

She gave the man a deep, probing look. "Do you know why this Trial Tower manifested now, of all times?" she asked.

It wasn’t that Song Wanning was paranoid; the Trial Tower’s appearance was just too coincidental.

News of it had even spread in advance. No matter how you looked at it, something was off.

The man’s brow furrowed. "All this is just for that?"

"What else?" Song Wanning countered. "What could you possibly have that I’d want?"

Song Wanning sized him up with a smirk, and the man’s face instantly darkened.

’This woman has a venomous tongue. I shouldn’t have asked; I just brought that humiliation on myself.’

"If I tell you the reason, will you spare these portraits?"

Those portraits were the last trace of his wife’s existence in this world. He couldn’t bear to watch "her" be desecrated.

"Of course. I wouldn’t go to war over a few paintings. If you’re willing to tell me the truth, I’ll put these portraits away for you. I’ll place them on the highest shelf. As long as the Trial Tower stands, so will they. How does that sound?"

The smile on Song Wanning’s lips deepened. ’Looks like there really is a hidden story behind this Trial Tower’s appearance.’

The man hesitated for a moment, then gave Song Wanning a long, hard look. "Fine. But you must keep your word. If you dare break your promise, may you never ascend in this lifetime!"

He seemed afraid she would go back on her word, so he laid a curse on her first just in case.

Song Wanning was left speechless.

’It was just a few portraits. She wasn’t about to lie over them.’

"Look. She obtained the Trial Tower’s Boundary Token and used it to open the tower."

As the man spoke, a screen of light materialized, showing the figure of Liu Yiyi.

"It’s her again?"

The Golden Small Sword immediately flew into a rage. "That woman framed Sister time and time again, and now she’s back!"

Song Wanning chuckled. So much had happened recently that she hadn’t had a chance to deal with Liu Yiyi. And now, she’d delivered herself right to Song Wanning’s doorstep.

’No wonder everything felt so coincidental. Turns out, this was all aimed at me from the start.’

"You know this person?"

The man’s brow furrowed as he quickly put two and two together.

’So I’ve been used as well!’

His expression turned vicious as he, too, began to resent Liu Yiyi.

"A few days ago, this woman got the Boundary Token and tried to enter several times, but she failed. Then, two days ago, she suddenly opened the tower to the outside world..."

His words were full of insinuation, successfully painting Liu Yiyi in the worst possible light for Song Wanning.

Song Wanning raised an eyebrow, her eyes brimming with killing intent.

"Since she delivered herself to my doorstep, there’s no reason to let her leave alive."

She turned back to the man. "I keep my word. I won’t touch these portraits."

With that, she took out a box, placed all the portraits inside, and set it on the highest shelf in the study.

The man’s expression softened at the sight. But just as he was about to speak, a flash of sword light suddenly slashed toward him.

His eyes flew wide. Before he could even react, he dissolved into countless specks of starlight and vanished completely.

Song Wanning lowered her gaze at his shocked expression.

She nonchalantly sheathed her Longsword. "I said I’d spare the portraits. I never said I’d spare you."

Lifting her gaze again, Song Wanning looked at Liu Yiyi on the light screen, a cold smile playing on her lips.

The Golden Small Sword bounced excitedly. "Sister, get her! Get her!"

"Okay!"

A smile blossomed in Song Wanning’s eyes, and in the next instant, she flew into the light screen.

She followed the passage and materialized in Liu Yiyi’s room, just in time to meet an incoming attack.

Liu Yiyi had been in the middle of a battle, her mind wondering about Song Wanning’s fate, when a figure suddenly dropped from the sky and landed right in front of her.

She attacked on instinct, only to see the person wave a hand, and her attack dissipated into nothing.

Liu Yiyi’s heart sank. Only when the light of the Spell faded did she get a clear look at the person before her.

Her eyes flew wide in shock, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"How are you here?"

"You shouldn’t be..."

"Shouldn’t be dead, is that it?"

Song Wanning finished the sentence for her with a smile, the profound meaning in her eyes sending a chill down Liu Yiyi’s spine.

A sense of dread washed over her. Panic began to set in, and her voice trembled when she spoke.

"What do you mean by that? I don’t understand."

Her heart began to race, and Liu Yiyi could barely contain her terror.

Desperate to live, her mind raced, and she instantly adopted a tone of guilt and sorrow.

"Wan Ning, I misunderstood you before. You’re still angry with me, aren’t you?"

"The truth is, we were both deceived by Ye Chuxue back then. She told me you never considered me a friend, that you were two-faced..."

"It was her idea for me to ’test’ you during the grand tournament. Really, believe me! I’ve always thought of you as my best friend."

Tears welled up in Liu Yiyi’s eyes. She had always been a master of pretense, putting on a frail and delicate act that naturally evoked pity.

’In her past life, she had fallen for it, thinking Liu Yiyi was pitiful and helping her time and again.’

’Liu Yiyi came from a poor family, but Song Wanning had never looked down on her. In fact, she had often comforted her when she was feeling insecure. She never imagined she would be repaid with betrayal.’

’Now, watching this flimsy performance, she found it utterly laughable.’

"Enough. You might not be tired of the act, but I’m tired of watching it."

Song Wanning cut her performance short. ’Now that I’ve had a complete falling out with Ye Chuxue, Liu Yiyi thinks she can just pin all the blame on her? Dream on.’

"I don’t care what your reasons are."

She glanced to the side, the smile fading from her face.

A chill went through Liu Yiyi. Her eyelashes trembled, and the tears clinging to them hung in limbo, refusing to either fall or recede, creating a rather comical sight.

She looked up at Song Wanning, about to speak again, but saw that Song Wanning had already raised her Longsword impatiently.

"No, Wan Ning, please listen to me!"

Liu Yiyi was in a full-blown panic. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’I can’t die! I can’t die!’

"Wan Ning, I was wrong! I was wrong, I was really wrong! Please, don’t kill me!"

"I’ll do anything you say from now on, okay? Just spare me, and I’ll follow you for the rest of my life!"