Chapter 289: 288, mission failed Chapter 289: 288, mission failed Lying motionless on the ground, Liu Li’s body was a gruesome sight with blood flowing from all seven orifices.
“Senior Sister Liu!” Qiao Yu screamed in panic, quickly walking to Liu Li’s side, squatting down, and reaching out his hand to check her nose. His face suddenly changed, “Someone come quick! Something has happened to Senior Sister Liu.”
Hearing Qiao Yu’s shout, Xue Qi hurried into Liu Li’s room, “What happened? What’s wrong with Junior Sister Liu?”
“Senior Sister Xue Qi, Senior Sister Liu… she has passed away,” Qiao Yu said, crying as he looked at Xue Qi.
“How could this happen?” Xue Qi quickly rushed to Liu Li’s side, grabbing her wrist and channeling a trace of Spiritual Power into it.
After a long while, Xue Qi withdrew her hand with a sad expression, “I’ll go report to the elders.”
Stepping out, Xue Qi’s face broke into a slight smile. Liu Li’s death was due to the tea she had brewed that day; she had added the same poison she used for Song Ning. Now that Liu Li was dead, the effectiveness of her poison was proven. Why was Song Ning still perfectly alive?
The death of one disciple would naturally not cause much turbulence within the sect. After the elder arrived and glanced at the deceased Liu Li, he assigned two disciples to take care of her body and then left.
Xue Qi, once again holding the poisoned medicine, arrived at Song Yan Ning’s bamboo cottage. Seeing Song Yan Ning sitting outside, she approached with a smile, “Junior Sister Ning, this is the last dose of medicine. Drink it quickly.” Knowing the poison was effective, she had doubled the dose today; she did not believe Song Ning could survive it.
Song Yan Ning took the medicine bowl and drank it all in one go, handing the bowl back to Xue Qi, “Senior Sister Xue Qi, the grand competition is tomorrow, and I’m a bit nervous. I’m really afraid of being expelled from the sect.”
“Don’t be afraid, I’ll do my best to protect you,” Xue Qi watched Song Yan Ning, a hint of anxiety in her eyes. Why wasn’t there any reaction yet?
“Thank you, Senior Sister Xue Qi,” Song Yan Ning said with a smile, a cold glint flickering in the depths of her eyes. She had heard about Liu Li’s incident, and knowing that Liu Li had visited Xue Qi before her death, it was not hard to guess that her demise was closely connected to Xue Qi.
“You are the junior sister I cherish the most; who else should I be good to if not to you?” Xue Qi sat down next to Song Yan Ning. Today, she was determined to witness the result; she wanted to see this useless person die with her own eyes.
Song Yan Ning smiled and leaned her head on Xue Qi’s shoulder, “I knew Sister Xue Qi was the best, and so is Big Brother. With you by my side, I feel so fortunate.”
A hint of disgust flashed in Xue Qi’s eyes as she resisted the urge to push Song Yan Ning away, “Having you by my side also makes me happy.”
“Senior Sister Xue Qi, I feel a bit dizzy. I’m going to sleep for a while,” Song Yan Ning said, staggering to her feet and heading inside.
Xue Qi quickly followed and saw Song Yan Ning collapse onto the bed as soon as she entered the room, her face revealing a triumphant smile. It seemed her task was about to be accomplished.
After a while, as Song Yan Ning’s complexion grew paler and blood started seeping from the corners of her eyes, Xue Qi laughed heartily and walked out of the bamboo cottage. Judging by Song Ning’s condition, her death was certain, and Xue Qi could finally be at ease.
Returning to her residence, Xue Qi waited to be transported out by the system. She planned to call her grandfather tomorrow and tell him that she could now enter the Emperor Realm and that she had also obtained a Cultivation Method. Her grandfather would surely agree to let her return.
Once back, she’d finally see Brother Yushen. After so many years, Brother Yushen must have grown even more handsome.
Thinking of this, Song Yanxue burst into laughter.
Soon after, her laughter abruptly ceased as she clutched her chest in pain. What was happening? Why was her heart in such agony? It felt as if something was gnawing at her heart, making the pain unbearable.
“Ugh!” Unable to contain herself, Song Yanxue spat out a mouthful of blood and then darkness enveloped her vision as she felt her body lighten.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself transported out of the virtual world.
“How is this possible? How could my mission possibly fail?” Song Yanxue shook her head in disbelief. She distinctly remembered that when she had left, Song Ning’s eyes were bleeding, signaling that she was certainly doomed. So how could her mission have failed?
Moreover, why did she suddenly experience severe pain all over? Why did she die? She was even more perplexed. If it was something Song Ning had done, that would be impossible; Song Ning was a failure, without such capabilities.
After a long contemplation, Song Yanxue was still utterly confused.
Walking into the Task Hall, Song Yanxue approached the service counter and handed over her Peace Pendant to the staff, “Can you check my points?” The poison she used on Song Ning was foolproof; sooner or later, Song Ning was bound to die, so her mission shouldn’t be considered a failure.
The staff member took the Peace Pendant and checked, “Due to the failure of your mission, two hundred points have been deducted.”
“How can that be? Could you have made a mistake?” Song Yanxue shook her head in disbelief. If the mission was incomplete, then Song Ning must have survived. How could she not die? She had been poisoned by her, and Song Yanxue had even witnessed Song Ning’s bleeding eyes.
“The system shows this; there can be no error.”
Song Yanxue calmed herself and asked, “Can you check if Wuji and the Doctor were also part of the mission with me?”
The staff member checked the system, “Yes, they were.”
“Then can you help me check their identities in the system?” Song Yanxue asked. She had already taken on that mission, and knowing who was who wouldn’t allow her to enter again.
The staff member hesitated.
“I am willing to lose another hundred points to purchase their identities in the mission.” In Emperor Realm, one couldn’t check real identities, but checking identities within the virtual world was permissible if the inquirer was willing to exchange points.
The staff member nodded and began querying for Song Yanxue, “Wuji is Tianyi Sect’s talented disciple Qin Mo. The Doctor’s identity in the mission is Song Ning.”
Song Yanxue, containing her anger, took back her Peace Pendant. Knowing that Song Ning was the Doctor, she realized she had been schemed against by the Doctor, who hadn’t been poisoned at all.
But she couldn’t understand how the Doctor knew she was going to poison her or why the system ejected her. She hadn’t even drunk a sip offered by the Doctor and had always maintained a distance from her.
Despite racking her brain, Song Yanxue was stumped. She clenched her teeth in fury, “Just you wait! I will never let you go.” She was no longer the same Song Yanxue as before. This time, she wouldn’t be ousted from the Emperor Realm because of the Doctor. She was determined to uncover the Doctor’s real identity and make her life a living hell in the real world.