Prologue

"Taiping," in the brightly lit southwest corner of the Baihe Temple, Xu Yin sat calmly in the chair, calling the nickname of Liang Ning, who was gasping on the ground, "Where exactly is that dagger?"

Liang Ning lay prone on the ground, struggling to lift her head, a long scar on her right cheek starkly revealed in the light.

She gritted her teeth to steady her breath, "What exactly do you want it for?"

In front of her vision were two portraits hanging on the wall. The depicted military generals were majestic and robust, bearing a slight resemblance to Liang Ning upon closer inspection. They were her brothers: Liang Qin, who had fought valiantly and inherited the Marquis of the Protector General, and Liang Jun, who was General Zhao Yi. Both had sacrificed themselves in the northwest.

The dagger was hidden in the crevice of the bricks beneath the portraits.

But Liang Ning never intended to give the dagger away, because she had picked it up from a pool of blood in an alley three nights ago.

Xu Yin had seen it that very night; he hadn't asked for it then, but yesterday he suddenly came to her asking for the knife.

From the incident until today, so many days had passed without any rumor about this matter in the city as if it had never happened. Such strangeness could not possibly be a good thing! Of course, Liang Ning didn't give it to him.

Thus, Xu Yin did not succeed. But in the end, when he left, his expression was somewhat peculiar.

Unexpectedly, he came to the mountain again tonight and took advantage of the moment when she was coaxing her little grandnephew to sleep to put Soft Muscle Powder in her tea, rendering her martial arts completely ineffective!

That was a weapon she had once given him for protection, yet now he used it for a sinister purpose, using the very weapon she provided him, to deal with her so despicably!

"I have my own use for it, naturally," Xu Yin drank a cup of tea and then set the cup down.

His indifferent attitude caused Liang Ning's jaw to clench tightly again. It also made her unconsciously think of some recent rumors.

Rumors said that Princess Yongping of Prince Rong's Mansion often came and went with the new top scholar.

Princess Yongping was the only legitimate daughter of Prince Rong, the Imperial Uncle, and the precious child born to Princess Rong in her thirties.

The favored princess matched with an exceptional top scholar was undoubtedly a match made in heaven.

But Xu Yin had long been betrothed to her.

At ten, Liang Ning followed Liang Qin to clean the battlefield and found Xu Yin in a pile of dead bodies. Xu Yin was twelve then, nearly dead, still clutching a book beside him. She dragged him out; the scar on her right cheek was from falling and injuring her face on a weapon while carrying him back to the camp in his weakened state!

After saving him, she kept him by her side, begged the great strategist to teach him, and seeing his weak constitution, even pestered her second brother to teach him martial arts.

The elderly military doctor she used to tease became a regular visitor, and over those five years, she managed to nurse the frail Xu Yin back to health and vitality.

Two years ago in the northwest, Xu Yin proposed marriage to Liang Qin, seeking to wed her, but Liang Qin thought that no matter how intelligent Xu Yin was, he was still not worthy of his precious sister. So they agreed that if Xu Yin achieved academic success, they would discuss marriage again.

Last winter, after Liang Ning returned to the capital with Liang Qin's remains, Xu Yin followed. Liang Ning then bought a small house for the Xu Mansion near the Liang Mansion and went to great lengths to find accomplished teachers to guide his writing.

Finally, she helped him achieve top scholar status, and with the forceful recommendation from the teacher Liang Ning found for him, he successfully entered the Hanlin Academy as an editor.

"There is no other woman but you, Liang Ning, to be my wife,"

He had been saying such words for three years.

Liang Ning had long recognized him as her own.

However, recently, when it should have been time to fulfill their engagement, their meetings became less frequent.

This was certainly partly because Liang Ning was busy managing the General's Mansion affairs, but on the other hand, also because Xu Yin seldom sought her out anymore.

She gradually lost touch with his affairs.

Be it the rumors with Yongping or the mystery behind this dagger, if he didn't speak, she had no way to guess.

"What if I don't give it to you?" she gritted her teeth and asked.

This ungrateful wretch!

Six years of affection, only to be treated this way by him! Regardless of the reason, once she left this room and regained her martial arts, she would surely not let him go!

Xu Yin looked at her and suddenly squatted in front of her, "Actually, it doesn't matter. Whether you give it or not, there is only one result."

His eyes were still so attractive, but beneath them surged emotions utterly unfamiliar to Liang Ning.

A piercing coldness suddenly crawled from her feet up to her limbs!

"What result?"

"Can you guess?"

"... Are you going to kill me?"

"You're always so smart," Xu Yin smiled, gripping her chin, his gaze suddenly growing cold, "Aren't you curious why it's so quiet outside tonight? I spent an entire day setting this up just to achieve this result."

Liang Ning shivered with fear, "Why?!"

Xu Yin chuckled lowly, a sharp light passing through his eyes, "Because I want power to control the court, I want the highest position!"

Liang Ning held her breath, swallowing saliva only after a long silence.

They had been together every day for six years; he had always been gentle and kind, making people feel like they were basked in spring breeze. He said he pursued academic honors so that she could enjoy the title of a noble lady in the future, splendidly living as a minister's wife under his care. She never imagined there was such an insidious side hidden beneath his kind and gentle mask!

"What does this have to do with my life and death?!"

"It has everything to do with it!" Xu Yin replied, "The Liang Family used to be prominent, trusted, and relied upon by the emperor as important ministers, but now, they are all dead."

"The Liang Family has declined, now only supported by the youthful Liang Chen at the General's Mansion, and he even chose this time when Great Zhou is suffering continuous defeats to recklessly take command in the northwest —

"Judging by past war reports, he's doomed to fail. If he dies, your Liang Family will soon have no one left! Tell me, what use is such a Liang Family to me?

"If you die, our marriage will automatically become void, I can rid myself of the Liang Family's debt of gratitude, and pursue higher stepping stones."

Liang Ning, unable to believe it, barely suppressed the blood surging in her throat, "All these years, this is how you evaluated the Liang Family? We, who supported you every step of the way to your current status, are merely tools for you to climb higher in your eyes?"

"What else?" Xu Yin applied a bit more force, "Did you think I genuinely liked the Liang Family, liked you with your disfigured face?"

"Xu Yin!" Liang Ning burned with anger, "Don't forget, my disfigurement was because of you!"

Her and the Liang Family's sincerity and goodwill ultimately became a use-and-discard bridge for him!

And her dedication to him also became a reason for him to disdain her!

Liang Ning gritted her teeth, "If you don't want to marry, just call off the engagement, why must you intend to kill me?"

Xu Yin sneered lightly, "Because after being with you all for six years, I've long understood the principle of eradicating the roots when dealing with an enemy. You could never truly agree to call off the engagement, nor could you guarantee not to seek revenge on me.

"Even if you could promise, the Liang Family wouldn't. As benefactors, there are countless ways for you to suppress me.

"So only if you die can I be at ease. Now, do you understand?"

Xu Yin looked down at her, his thumb rubbing her chin.

"It's a pity, you are the only person in this world foolish enough to treat me well unconditionally. Without the engagement, I wouldn't have to kill you at all.

"But now, so many court dignitaries are eyeing me, the top scholar; I clearly have bigger and better opportunities, a broader future. I will have a glorious future, a beautiful wife and concubines.

"You indeed have deep feelings for me, but precisely because this grace is too heavy, I cannot repay it and do not wish to repay it, so I might as well just kill you."

His voice was light and slow, yet each word scraped Liang Ning raw down to the bone!

This was the person she had treated with her entire heart for six full years.

Even if she wasn't the person he loved, she was his lifesaver!

Now she had become his stepping stone to success and was about to become a ghost under his knife!

"Come in, all of you!"

With just those words, several black-clad men immediately leaped in from the window.

Each of them carried a wooden bucket, and the smell of lamp oil filled Liang Ning's nasal cavity, instantly saturating the entire room!

Before Liang Ning could react, bucket after bucket of lamp oil was poured onto the curtains, tablecloths, and the two hanging portraits in the room!

Flames began to rise in a far corner, the smell of burning fabric wafted through the night breeze wave after wave!

Liang Ning looked incredulously at Xu Yin, who was only standing here in his brocade robe because of all her efforts and assistance.

He truly intended to kill her...

He truly meant to kill the person who thought of him selflessly at all times for the past six years!

"Beast!"

She exerted all her strength to pounce on him!

But the drug's effect was too strong, and before she could even pounce, she had already rolled onto the ground!

The lamp oil on the floor instantly soaked her clothes and hair, and she lifted her head trembling, her eyes glaring so hard that they seemed to crack!

"You came prepared, so from the very beginning, you intended for me to die!"

"Yes," Xu Yin nodded, raising a long-lasting lamp and unhesitatingly throwing it into the pool of lamp oil.

The flames whooshed up with a whoosh!

Liang Ning, with a pale face, watched the growing fire and yelled at him, gritting each word: "Xu Yin! My Liang Family is filled with heroic sacrifices, I, Liang Ning, have no regrets towards heaven and earth for defending the country! Today, if I die at your hands, in the future, when I become an Evil Ghost, heaven will surely help me avenge this blood feud! Let you suffer a fate where you won't even have a burial place!"

Xu Yinteng stepped out of the threshold, shouting sternly, "Pour all the lamp oil on her! Set her on fire! Gag her mouth!"

The barrels of lamp oil instantly engulfed Liang Ning!

The raging flames surrounded her from all sides, quickly crawling up her body along the lamp oil on the ground!

The flames burned her clothes and hair and then curled up her skin.

She was wholly consumed by the roaring flames, and the bone-gnawing pain quickly dragged her down into the bottomless Purgatory...