Chapter 21: Secrets at the Stern

Ethereal light permeated from the ancient buildings in the stern, along with the mist.

However, a courtyard wall, over a dozen zhang high, blocked the view, revealing only the densely packed rooftops of those ancient structures. They were adorned with golden glazed tiles and beams made of glistening divine wood. There were pavilions, halls, and ancient pagodas...

Between the colossal courtyard wall, resembling a city wall, and the nine-story command tower, lay a hundred-meter-wide expanse of empty deck.

Xie Jin, stripped of his former arrogance and insolence, sat on the first stone step of the bronze gate, holding a steel pipe. From time to time, he glanced nervously towards the command tower passage.

He had become a frightened bird, seeing phantoms in every shadow.

The stone steps behind him numbered in the dozens.

At the top of the steps was a bronze gate, approximately three zhang high, leading into the courtyard – a truly magnificent and imposing sight. The left door panel featured a relief of a myriad of twinkling lights, while the right depicted a starlit scene resembling a river of the underworld, its location in the cosmos unknown.

"Dr. Qi, what's the situation now?"

Seeing Qi Shanshan emerge from the passage, Xie Jin, as if grasping a life raft, felt his spirits lift slightly. He hurried forward, asking anxiously.

Qi Shanshan brought good news: "Don't worry, Li Weiyi and the people from Lab 705 have both suffered heavy losses. For now, no one has the energy to deal with you."

"That's great!"

Xie Jin's mind became active. He said, "Let's plan this out. You poison the food, and I'll launch a sneak attack. We'll take care of that murderous thug Li Weiyi and the people from Lab 705 together."

"Good, I was thinking the same thing."

Qi Shanshan took out a bag of food and handed it over. "You haven't eaten all day, have you? You look like you're starving and losing energy, and it's getting cold. Have a bite first."

Xie Jin was indeed starving, his stomach rumbling. As he ravenously devoured the food, he mumbled, "Li Weiyi must have swallowed the sarira, that's why he became so powerful. But no matter how strong, he's still flesh and blood. Poison, potent poison, can definitely kill him... By then... Ah... You... The food you gave me..."

Xie Jin's stomach twisted with agonizing cramps, as if filled with razor blades. He couldn't stand straight and stared at Qi Shanshan in disbelief.

Qi Shanshan stepped back three paces, hands in her pockets, her gaze indifferent. "You said it yourself, poison in the food, potent poison, made with the blood of the Black Flood Dragon's corpse."

"Bitch! We lost so badly... It must be because of you! You and that pretty boy are in cahoots... *Ptooey*..."

Xie Jin lunged towards Qi Shanshan, but collapsed to the ground after only three steps.

He convulsed, spitting foamy blood from his mouth.

Visibly, his skin began to blacken and fester.

Qi Shanshan walked over and lightly kicked Xie Jin. After confirming he was dead, she murmured scornfully to herself, "You only got half of it right. I wasn't with him before; I was truly helping you all. Now, well..."

Qi Shanshan's alliance with Xie Tianshu and the others was the only viable path she could see at the time.

However, she held a low opinion of Xie Tianshu's character and abilities.

Especially after learning of Liu Ying's fate, she felt even more fortunate about the emergence of Li Weiyi as a perfect collaborator. He possessed both strength and good looks, valued loyalty, was astute and decisive, compassionate towards the weak, yet utterly ruthless towards enemies.

She didn't want to merely be Li Weiyi's collaborator.

She wanted to remove the word "collaborator."

But she also knew she had missed the best opportunity to claim Li Weiyi. If only she could have foreseen this day, she would have snatched that bowl of fish soup from Cai Yutong's hands, no matter what.

No longer dwelling on regret, Qi Shanshan dragged Xie Jin's body towards the ship's rail.

As long as she cleaned up the traces here and prevented Li Weiyi from noticing anything amiss, she would completely sever ties with her past. In the future, she would have plenty of ways to win him over.

No matter how excellent he was, he was still just a passionate young man.

"Xie Jin probably never dreamed that the most terrifying person on this ship isn't me, but you."

Just as she struggled to drag Xie Jin's body to the ship's rail, Li Weiyi's voice sounded in her ear. Even with all her composure, Qi Shanshan was startled.

However, in the brief moment it took her to stand up and smooth her disheveled hair, she had already devised a plan. She asked calmly, "How long have you been here?"

"Since Xie Jin collapsed."

Li Weiyi's tone was calm. He stood by the command tower passage, his figure tall and dashing.

They were more than twenty meters apart.

"So, you just stood there watching? Watching me clumsily and laboriously drag a corpse like a penguin?" Qi Shanshan retorted, feigning indignation and resentment, as if oblivious to Li Weiyi's anger at that moment, or the disappointment and pain on his face.

Li Weiyi frowned, having no intention of "flirting" with her.

This was not something that could be dismissed with a few witty remarks.

He walked into the deck area shrouded in ethereal light. On the ground lay the bodies of four other research team members, along with various chemical devices and medicines.

In a corner, the massive corpse of a bear-like creature lay. The wound on its abdomen was rotting, emitting a pungent stench.

Evidently, it had died from severe injuries on the day it fell onto the bronze vessel.

It was the Yellow Dragon Sword!

The wounds inflicted by the Yellow Dragon Sword could not heal, even on a supernatural creature; instead, the injuries would rapidly fester.

The four research team members' bodies each presented a horrific sight.

Some had ruptured skin, leaving only flesh and bone; others had scales growing on half their bodies while the other half festered; still others had tentacles sprouting from their heads, but their skulls were shattered.

Li Weiyi said, "So, the four research team members who, according to legend, ventured into the stern and never returned, were actually used by you for live experiments! Spreading this rumor, while intentionally leaving the bear-like creature's blood near the command tower, was to scare everyone, preventing any research team members from daring to come here."

"That day, by the command tower, you must have been afraid that Gao Huan and I would come to the stern and discover your secret, which is why you sent us away, right?"

"Xie Tianshu dared to drink dragon blood also because you had already obtained conclusive experimental results."

"The reason everyone fainted after breakfast was also because you provided the drugs to Kong Fan."

Li Weiyi stared intently into Qi Shanshan's eyes. "You're terrifying. Your disguise is so good; there isn't a single flaw when you lie. I was almost completely fooled by you!"

Qi Shanshan's eyes reddened, feeling immensely wronged, her voice choked. "I... I had no choice. You saw Liu Ying's fate. If I didn't proactively do something, it would be me jumping overboard today. Only a person with value can survive, gain influence, and status."

Li Weiyi said, "Dr. Qi, how many people have died because of you? If you hadn't provided them with the drugs, they might not have succeeded."

Tears streamed down Qi Shanshan's face. "I'm not you. I don't have your immense power. I couldn't control my own fate; I could only choose to compromise. When Xie Jin held a knife to my throat, it was either die or help him. Tell me, what choice did I have?"

Li Weiyi no longer knew whether to believe her.

Qi Shanshan had helped him and saved him more than once.

But she was too clever, too adept at lying, and too good at fabricating stories.

Every expression, every word she uttered, though seemingly emotional, was undoubtedly carefully considered. In fact, Xie Tianshu, Kong Fan, and the others were likely just her pawns.

Because she certainly had ways to eliminate them, just as she had killed Xie Jin.

"You saved me. This time, I won't kill you. But what you've done, someone will hold you accountable for it." Li Weiyi made it clear that it was only this one time.

Qi Shanshan's eyes were filled with sorrow. "Did I only save you once?"

At that moment, Li Weiyi deeply understood the principle that one should never be indebted to others.

Qi Shanshan, her eyes brimming with tears, continued, "Yes, I deserve to die, but I saved Yutong and I saved you. Even if everyone in the world says I deserve to die, you two absolutely have no right to utter that word. If you go tell them now, they will kill me immediately, and my fate will be like those two security team members thrown into the Sea of Souls."

"You won't kill me, but I will die because of you."

Li Weiyi could choose not to pursue the fates of others indefinitely, as he was not a righteous judge.

However, Qi Shanshan bore some responsibility for his senior brother's current state.

Li Weiyi said, "You are still useful now, so I can give you a chance. Help me cure my senior brother, and then he will decide what to do with you."

"But if my senior brother doesn't make it through this, if anything bad happens to him, everyone will pay with their lives. Even heaven won't be spared!"

Li Weiyi thoroughly searched Qi Shanshan to ensure she had no dangerous items, then asked, "Where is Senior Sister Cai?"

Qi Shanshan could never have imagined that Li Weiyi, who used to be so sunny, kind, and humble in front of her, would have such terrifying eyes when mentioning his senior brother, a chill seemingly penetrating her bones.

At that moment, she truly understood how terrifying it was to offend Li Weiyi on matters of principle.

Had she not done two or three things correctly before, she would undoubtedly be dead by now.

Qi Shanshan led Li Weiyi towards the second floor of the nine-story command tower. "No one dares to come up here; it's very safe. I hid her here so this turmoil wouldn't affect her."

The passage on the second floor of the command tower was still lined with stone effigies.

Passing through these effigies, they finally saw Cai Yutong lying on the ground.

"She was just drugged by me, nothing serious... Huh, why isn't she awake yet after so long?" Qi Shanshan realized something was wrong.

"Senior Sister... Senior Sister Cai..."

Li Weiyi knelt down to check on Cai Yutong.

"So hot!"

The moment his hand touched Cai Yutong's forehead, Li Weiyi was startled.

Her body was terrifyingly hot, not at all like human body temperature.

"Let me see."

After checking the temperature on Cai Yutong's face, Qi Shanshan immediately began to undress her, but then, remembering something, she looked at Li Weiyi.

Li Weiyi turned away.

However, he channeled the hot air current from the sole of his right foot, concentrating it in his ears.

After lifting her clothes, Qi Shanshan saw numerous golden veins beneath Cai Yutong's skin around her chest. They seemed to originate from her heart, extending throughout her body, and shimmered with threads of fiery, golden light.

"Didn't you say that human bodies could withstand a one-tenth concentration of Golden Crow blood? Why has such a drastic change suddenly occurred?" Qi Shanshan murmured, seemingly to herself, as she stared at the unconscious Cai Yutong, her voice full of confusion.

"Senior Sister drank Golden Crow blood?" By the time Li Weiyi turned around, Cai Yutong's clothes had been replaced.

Qi Shanshan nodded. "She believed that diluted Golden Crow blood could be tolerated by the human body, so she experimented on herself. But her body temperature is now over sixty degrees Celsius and rising rapidly."

Remembering something, Qi Shanshan immediately took out the cross pendant and placed it around Cai Yutong's neck.

This immortal cross pendant was originally obtained by Cai Yutong.

Qi Shanshan had taken it from Cai Yutong after drugging her.

She thought the cross pendant might be able to suppress the destructive power of the Golden Crow blood, as Cai Yutong had not experienced such changes when wearing it previously.

It was similar to how the flood dragon-like mutation required wearing a dragon-patterned thumb ring.

After the cross pendant was removed, the power of the Golden Crow blood was unleashed, thus beginning to endanger Cai Yutong's life.

Fortunately, the Golden Crow blood was diluted, and its release was slow. Otherwise, by the time she and Li Weiyi arrived, Cai Yutong might have already been reduced to ashes.

However, upon putting on the cross pendant, Cai Yutong's body temperature rose even faster.

Moments later, she was completely engulfed in golden flames.

Li Weiyi and Qi Shanshan dared not approach, retreating far away.

"How strange! The temperature of these golden flames is high, yet her body is completely unharmed."

The golden flames were dazzling, but Li Weiyi could see Cai Yutong's body outline within the flames perfectly intact, without any damage, which was truly inconceivable.

After all, she was merely a mortal of flesh and blood.

*Whoosh!*

The golden flames suddenly burst into a roaring inferno. Within the sparks, a pair of brilliant, multi-meter-long winged light-shadows appeared, a magical transformation akin to a chrysalis breaking open into a butterfly.

Both retreated further, holding their breath.

The flames burned for about fifteen minutes, then began to recede.

The light was no longer as blinding. Cai Yutong's body, lying on the ground, gradually became visible. A layer of mundane outer skin cracked and peeled away, revealing dazzlingly white skin beneath.

"You... perhaps you should go downstairs first?" Qi Shanshan said cautiously.

Li Weiyi naturally saw that something was amiss. Although Cai Yutong hadn't turned to ashes, the fabric of her clothes had.

Thinking that Qi Shanshan wouldn't harm Cai Yutong, Li Weiyi descended the ladder and returned to the first deck area. The image of Cai Yutong feeding him fish soup flashed in his mind, warming his heart while also stirring a quiet worry.

Not long after.

The low voices of the two women drifted from the second floor of the command tower, Qi Shanshan seemingly explaining something.

Li Weiyi felt a weight lift from his chest, and his lips curved into an involuntary smile.

But he didn't go up the command tower, quietly waiting below.

Once his mood relaxed, his gaze suddenly fell upon the three-zhang-high bronze gate atop the dozens of stone steps in the distance. His curiosity piqued, he walked towards it.