496 Her Corpse (1/2)

She grumbled under her breath before finally standing up and deciding to take some action.

Li Xueyue stomped down the staircase and decided to view his collection of poison. To her pure disappointment, only the name of the poison was written on the labels, and nothing about its effects.

”Eternal Sleep…” It was the only one she knew.

Li Xueyue picked up the bottle and examined the dark color. Out of curiosity, she decided to uncap it to take a whiff. Was it similar to the tonic that the physician in Wuyi had prescribed her? If it was, she wondered if it would help Yu Zhen sleep a little longer.

It was dangerous for him to survive on so little sleep, then overwork himself all the time. She was worried about his health.

”Hmm…” Li Xueyue uncapped the bottle and brought it to her nose. She wrinkled her nose in disgust when a strong fume rushed into her nose. She coughed in response, and held the bottle away from her.

Li Xueyue placed the cap back onto the bottle. It definitely did not smell the same. She wondered why. With a shrug of her shoulders, she slipped it into her pocket and continued browsing through the shelves.

”Poppy,” she read out loud upon picking up a random bottle of ink-black liquid. It certainly did not match its colorful name. Poppy… What type of poison was that?

Did he mean poppy seeds that were extremely poisonous?

Li Xueyue settled the bottle back onto the shelf. She glanced around in curiosity and noticed she had wandered considerably close to the darkest corners of the cellar where the candle was blown out.

Speaking of which, the candles were burning at a faster rate than expected. Soon, they would all go out and she would be in complete darkness. Just the thought of it was enough to make her skin crawl.

”How can he be so mean?” Li Xueyue muttered to herself in utter disappointment. Was he punishing her for being kind? Wasn't that what every man wants in a woman? Not that she cared, but still.

Li Xueyue held back a sigh. If more candles get blown out, submerging her in darkness, she would never forgive him—ever. Whenever it was dark, she would think of terrible things. And with her current state, there was nothing holding her back from having those dark thoughts.

Li Xueyue held back a sigh. She turned on her heels and headed for the shelf that was not consumed by shadows. But she warily peered over her shoulders, terrified of what could be lurking there. It was dim in the cellar, but her eyes had not adjusted to the dark.

Hoping to distract herself, Li Xueyue turned to another shelf. ”A Thousand Needles.” She picked up the empty bottle.

She warily placed the bottle back onto the shelf. Then, she glanced at the tiny bottles placed on the same shelf and her face paled. There were more—a lot more.

Li Xueyue also noticed there were five more empty bottles of ”A Thousand Needles.”

”They must've been fed to the intruders…” Li Xueyue knew the fate that had awaited these men. With Yu Zhen's temperament, he'd most likely have them tortured beyond recognition, only for their bodies to be dumped in boiling water, or worse, branded all over.

Li Xueyue shuddered. She took a step away from the shelf, but did not realize she had a foot in the darkness.

Just then, something clicked.

Li Xueyue jumped in fear. She looked in between the shelves, wondering what could've caused that sound. She could not get a good look at the cellar door from where she stood. Which meant…whoever opened the door would not be able to see her too.

Suddenly, a quiet creaking sound was heard. A voice called out for her, warm and uncertain. ”Sunshine?”

Li Xueyue's glare became vengeful. He sounded worried… She narrowed her eyes. For the sheer terror he made her feel by locking up all alone in this dim cellar, she decided she would teach him a lesson. He knew of her fears but he did not hesitate to terrorize her.

Suddenly, all of her fears vanished. She was overwhelmed with sheer rage. He had witnessed her breakdown in that torture tent, how she sobbed and begged for mercy. How dare he subject her to such a terrifying experience again?

Blinded by revenge, Li Xueyue stepped into the darkness. She concealed herself within the dark corners of the cellar, where the light did not touch and the shadows embraced her.

- - - - -

When Yu Zhen was met with silence, his heart dropped. ”Sunshine!” he called out, this time, with more urgency.

Yu Zhen's eyes wildly searched for her. Why was she not responding? Was she truly crazy enough to take her own life?!

”Xueyue!” he screamed, storming down the staircase.

His blood was filled with dread. His eyes trembled. He was panicking with each passing second of silence. There was no response. No movement.

Yu Zhen's heart wildly thumped. He could hear it loudly thumping in his ears like a drum. Where was she? Where did she go? Why was she so quiet? Was she alright? Did something happen?!

Questions after questions swarmed his thoughts. He was shaken with fright. Where was his wife? Where was his woman?

”LI XUEYUE!” Yu Zhen roared. The walls trembled at his voice. The sound alone could shake the entire Kingdom.

He took a shaky step forward, as the light began to flee from him. If she was to die, Hanjian would be doomed. He would not set foot outside of his bedroom ever again. He would go crazy and kill everything in sight. Not a single soul would be spared.

Didn't Li Xueyue know, he was intoxicated by her? Bewitched even. She was the only reason he had been able to control his temper. With her gone, and the stress of running a kingdom, on top of his lack of sleep, it would not be long until his patience wears out.

When Yu Zhen set foot on the cellar floor, there was pure silence. He heard his own heartbeat, and it was erratic, like his eyes that wildly seeked her.

It was a locked door. Where could she have gone?