Chapter 165: Xiu Ying’s regret

Xiu Ying’s head buzzed as she lay in the rubble. She groaned as she tried to move, but she couldn’t feel her limbs. They didn’t respond. Before she could regain her senses, a force powerful enough to pierce her armor struck her.

Before she could take any more damage, she tapped the flickering, floating screen, and her body vanished into thin air. Outside, the people on the street looked up in shock. Some, thinking the enemy had breached the city’s defenses, ran for cover while others recorded the scene.

Only after the news broadcast mentioned Li Jun’s name did they realize they had just witnessed a fight among the gods. It turns out Xiu Ying was fleeing the imperial city. StarNet was in a frenzy, trying to figure out where the two were now, but they never reappeared.

Xiu Ying thought she had fled far enough when someone grabbed her throat. Her eyes widened at that handsome face she was all too familiar with. Back then, he despised her for being weak. He thought Li Mingze spoiled him too much, making him a useless person who only knew how to drink and flirt. She was jealous that someone that stupid would have the backing of Blue Sapphire. It was a waste in Li Jun’s hands.

But it turns out it was all purposeful. It was a way to hide his strength. Was he biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to retaliate? No, no, no, that was impossible. Her face turned pale, her lips drained of color as her armor shrieked warnings about failing vitals. Her lungs burned, and her throat constricted under Li Jun’s suffocating grip, each ragged breath etched in desperation across her trembling features.

Just when she thought she was going to pass out, she heard his voice through the haze like a deadly whisper. "Dying just like this is too easy for filth like you."

Her body froze, a chill running down her back. The armor on her body began to fall apart, the pieces falling heavily to the ground, each clang striking her heart. Each piece shed made her feel like half her life was being shed off exponentially.

Li Jun suddenly loosened his grip slightly. Xiu Ying was able to breathe, but she also knew how high above the ground. The height was such that if she fell, she would undoubtedly break her spine in three places but not die. She grabbed his hand, gripping tightly, but it was pointless.

Even if she could hold on, Li Jun wouldn’t let her. With a sinister glint in his eyes, Li Jun said, "With your skills you could have lived a respectable life, but you just had to be a greedy and ruthless beast. Xiu Ying, Xiu Ying... how could you be this fucking stupid?"

Tremors reverberated in her entire body with each syllable. This was the first time in her life that she was scared for her life. Even when she faced a mad man like Li Mingze, she wasn’t as frightened as now.

The pressure she felt from his oppressive aura was far more horrifying than the grip on her throat. She felt like her entire body, mind, and soul were about to be painfully torn to shreds and vaporized into nothingness.

Streams of tears slid down her cheeks, making her seem helpless, weak, and pitiful. If someone who had no idea what was going on saw this, they would think Li Jun was bullying a helpless, vulnerable woman. He would be branded as an evil villain on the spot.

"Li... Li Jun—spare... me—please—I was wrong!" She gasped, her words tumbling out between ragged breaths.

Hearing this, Li Jun almost laughed out loud. What was the point of begging now? When she did all those things to his parents, did she give them a chance to defend themselves? No. Like a viper, she lay in wait in the tall grass and struck repeatedly. Both of them died without even knowing who had harmed them.

"Spare you?... Yes, I will spare you from a quick death. You will live for years and each day... I will torment you till you beg for death, but I will not grant you such grace," he said, his voice low and venomous. Each word dripped with cruelty, the sound enough to chill the blood in her body.

With no hesitation, he casually let go, as if what he was throwing out was nothing more than useless trash. Xiu Ying felt the wind wheeze past her ears as she fell towards the rocky dunes of the desolate outskirt of the imperial city, but to her it felt like she was falling into a cold, endless abyss, never to be heard from or seen.

With an unsettling thud, she slammed into the ground, forming a large crater. Her limbs were contorted in unnatural directions. She let out a heart-wrenching scream, with blood coming out of her four orifices.

It hurt so much. The pain was like an agonizing pain that was tearing through every nerve, crushing her body from the inside out, each breath a battle against the excruciating pain.

Did she regret it? Did she regret killing Haku Ume and Li Mingze? No, given the chance, she would do it all over again, but this time, she would kill Li Jun when he was still young. She had tried to do it before, but Li Mingze, even when he was having an episode, guard Li Jun like a mad dog, protecting its cub.

If.. If there was a next time, she would kill Li Jun right before killing his mother. It would be best to deal with this future trouble immediately. This was only wishful thinking on her part. She only hoped Li Jun would spare her daughter the pain and give her an early death.

Dust rose as Li Jun landed a few feet from her. She choked, dirt and grime particles filling her lungs. When she coughed, her shattered ribs pierced her lungs, causing a pain so excruciating she nearly passed out.

Seeing her in this state, Li Jun didn’t feel anything at all. He wished he could torture her right then and there and cause her even more agony, but this wasn’t the right time. If she died here, he wouldn’t be able to revive her.

He called Princeton to come and pick Xiu Ying up. Princeton said he would be there in five minutes. As promised, the stealth spacecraft landed in that exact time frame. The medic on the team checked Xiu Ying’s condition not because of his oath as a doctor, but because this person couldn’t be allowed to die.