Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Leaving a Chess Piece Behind

"Are you here looking for a way to break the Blood Immortal Curse?" Jiang Lan didn’t answer her, instead asking a question of his own.

A crimson mist swirled around him, obscuring his face. His expression was utterly calm, but his face was drained of all color, a clear sign he was on the verge of collapse.

In the original story, Song Youwei was not only exceptionally talented and powerful but also devilishly clever—one of the protagonist Lin Fan’s beautiful and intelligent confidantes.

Later, when the protagonist Lin Fan purged the world and annihilated the Blood Immortal Sect, Song Youwei provided him with a great deal of assistance, completely redeeming her earlier persona as a bewitching femme fatale who toyed with people’s hearts.

If his current strength permitted, Jiang Lan certainly wouldn’t have let her off so easily.

Song Youwei froze. The Blood Immortal Curse was a secret known only to the upper echelons of the Blood Immortal Sect. Ordinary Disciples and members had no right to know of it.

Yet this incredibly mysterious young man before her knew even that.

Abruptly, her beautiful eyes widened, her eyelashes fluttering as she seemed to guess something. ’No wonder he appeared in this Earth Palace.’

"It seems nothing can be hidden from you, Sir."

"The only way to escape the control of the Blood Immortal Sect is to find a way to break the Blood Immortal Curse, and this place should be a former site of the Sect..." Song Youwei said in a low voice.

"I can help you break the Blood Immortal Curse, and I can also spare your lives," Jiang Lan interrupted, his expression impassive.

Song Youwei looked at him in astonishment, only to see that a small, white porcelain bottle had appeared in Jiang Lan’s hand.

"Take it," Jiang Lan said.

"What is this?" Song Youwei’s gaze fell upon it, her voice trembling slightly.

"The Heart-Devouring Pill. It’s an Elixir Pill with an effect similar to the Blood Immortal Curse, but with one difference: only I have the antidote. If you don’t take my antidote within three months, you’ll die as if your heart is being devoured by ten thousand ants," Jiang Lan said flatly.

Song Youwei fell silent for a moment, then raised her clear yet bewitching eyes and asked, "If that’s the case, then why should I take it? Even if the Blood Immortal Curse is broken, I’ll still be under someone’s control. I might as well just continue to endure the torment of the curse..."

"Do you have a choice?"

Jiang Lan gave a faint smile, but the depths of his eyes showed no emotional fluctuation. "I don’t like to waste time," he said. "I’ll give you three breaths to consider. For every breath that passes, I will kill one of the people behind you..."

The color drained from Song Youwei’s face, her limpid eyes filling with rage.

Blood rushed to her fair, slender, swan-like neck, suffusing it with a crimson blush.

"My Lady, you must not agree to his terms..."

the young woman behind her, her hair in a handmaiden’s bun, said in a trembling voice.

"Three..."

Jiang Lan’s gaze swept over, landing on the young woman.

Song Youwei instantly sensed a crimson mist begin to coalesce in the Void. Her expression changed once more. Gritting her teeth and suppressing the intense reluctance in her heart, she said, "I... I accept your terms."

’If the Blood Immortal Curse hadn’t flared up, causing my body to weaken and my strength to fall from its peak, how could I have ended up so passive, so easily coerced...?’

’I’m the one who’s supposed to be the ruthless and vicious enchantress, feared and avoided like a viper by the rest of the world. Who would have thought I’d be reduced to this, so easily manipulated and threatened.’

"Sensible people tend to live a little longer."

Jiang Lan casually tossed the white porcelain bottle to her.

Song Youwei opened the stopper and was immediately greeted by a clear, rich fragrance that seemed to slightly ease her injuries.

This stunned her, and she almost began to doubt if this was truly the so-called Heart-Devouring Pill.

But looking at Jiang Lan’s casual and impassive expression, a chill went through her heart.

She couldn’t possibly believe Jiang Lan would be kind enough to let her go so easily. After all, moments ago, it was precisely because she had sensed his aura that she’d had the idea to divert disaster in his direction...

Then, steeling herself, Song Youwei took the Elixir Pill from the bottle. She felt nothing strange. Instead, an indescribable sense of comfort washed over her, and her injuries even seemed to have improved significantly.

It even felt a bit like a Healing Elixir she had taken before, the Purifying Spirit Pill. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

But paradoxically, the more this was the case, the more uneasy Song Youwei became.

"Don’t worry, no one will be able to detect anything unusual. Even the upper echelons of the Blood Immortal Sect won’t know you’ve swallowed a Heart-Devouring Pill. Before it activates, you can even treat it as a healing Purifying Spirit Pill."

As if he knew what she was thinking, Jiang Lan’s tone was incredibly casual. "And I won’t be breaking your Blood Immortal Curse right now..."

Of course, he didn’t actually have any Heart-Devouring Pill, nor could he currently break the Blood Immortal Curse on Song Youwei.

But that didn’t stop him from intimidating her. The smarter a person was, the more cautious and suspicious they naturally became.

"You..."

Rage flashed in Song Youwei’s beautiful eyes. She grit her teeth, her exquisitely curvaceous figure trembling with fury.

She never expected Jiang Lan to be so shameless as to go back on his word.

Jiang Lan glanced at her and then said, seemingly intrigued, "Don’t be in such a rush to get angry. I will naturally do what I promised. Your master is Blood Evil Granny, is she not? It shouldn’t be difficult for you to ask her for a little extra antidote for the Blood Immortal Curse."

"And who is it you’re able to save with the antidote you scrape together each time?"

The color drained from Song Youwei’s face again. Fear flickered in her eyes as she asked in a trembling voice, "Who in the world are you?"

How could Jiang Lan even know who her master was?

"You can think of me as the benefactor who spared your life, or you could see me as your savior," Jiang Lan continued, watching her with keen interest. "Because I can also help you... kill your master."

"Kill my master..."

Song Youwei froze on the spot. For a moment, her mind went completely blank. Jiang Lan even knew that she wanted to kill her master.

"You aren’t naive enough to think that just because I break the Blood Immortal Curse for you, you’ll be able to escape the Blood Immortal Sect’s control, are you? You can’t even kill a single Blood Evil Granny, yet you still dream of breaking free from the Sect. How laughable." Jiang Lan chuckled, his tone laced with undisguised mockery and coldness.

’To be honest, I have no interest in dealing with the Blood Immortal Sect.’

’But for now, this Song Youwei is somewhat useful to me. Perhaps she can truly bring me significant benefits in the future.’

Song Youwei took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts and pulling herself back from the series of emotional blows.

"Sir... what will it take for you to help me?"

She wasn’t a fool, just momentarily overwhelmed by shock. Now that she had recovered, she knew that for Jiang Lan to have said so much and forced her to swallow the Heart-Devouring Pill, he must have a purpose.

"When the time comes that you have something that piques my interest in helping you, I naturally will," Jiang Lan said casually.

’Leaving a pawn like this on the board is still necessary. Even if she’s of no use now, she will be later.’

Astonishment flashed in Song Youwei’s beautiful eyes. She silently mulled over the meaning of his words before asking, "Then how am I to contact you in the future, Sir?"

The moment the words left her lips, she regretted them. ’Isn’t that the same as asking for his identity?’ He was so intent on concealing his true appearance; he clearly didn’t want anyone to know his origins or who he was.