Chapter 274

The cautious affection of youth had been ruthlessly shattered.

He should hate her.

But what if everything Gu Zhaozhao said was a lie?

What if Zhou Yimei had always been devoted to him, and he… had destroyed the most important person in his life with his own hands?

Xie Yu’s chest ached deeply.

He had slaughtered her people, trampled on her dignity, and even personally broke her sword-wielding right hand, crippling most of her cultivation.

—That girl had been the light that pulled him out of the endless hell.

What would Zhou Yimei think of him?

If she knew that everything had been a misunderstanding… could she forgive him?

Like a drowning man grasping for a final lifeline, Xie Yu took a deep breath.

Yes.

The reason she brought Gu Zhaozhao here to explain must have been to make him change his mind and rekindle their relationship.

After all, Zhou Yimei loved him, and he loved her.

“Do you think I would forgive you?”

Seeing the faint hope in his eyes, the sword cultivator’s sneer became even more pronounced.

“Don’t dream.”

Her words dripped with undisguised disgust.

“Some people, like worms, think that everyone else is filthy too. How laughable — do you still not understand why I came to see you today?”

Xie Yu’s eyes lost focus as he listened to her continue.

“I hate you. I hated you every day and every night. I wish I had left you to die back then without risking myself to send you the ancient scrolls. If you had died, it would have been the best possible outcome.”

Every word pierced his heart like a needle.

In an instant, the sword flashed.

Zhou Yimei used all her strength, and Xie Yu did not evade.

The thick scent of blood filled the air, something Zhou Yimei had longed to smell for so long.

Her cultivation had been crippled, her hand bones shattered.

She had been forced to feign weakness, allowing others to trample on her.

Only in the dead of night, when all was quiet, could she hold her sword with her left hand and sneak down the path beside her room to practice in the bamboo forest.

Day after day, each filled with unbearable pain, but in that hatred, she found the will to keep going.

Zhou Yimei wanted revenge.

She had no interest in wasting words with Xie Yu.

If she could, she would have preferred to slice him into pieces with one strike.

But her strength and cultivation no longer allowed it.

If she wanted to kill both of them today, she had to use another method.

Like making him so full of regret that he couldn’t resist.

There was no romance, no pity, no remorse.

The only thought in Zhou Yimei’s heart was that speaking to him was utterly revolting.

“This strike is for me.”

The sword gleamed like ice, piercing his right arm.

“This strike is for my slain people.”

Another strike, straight to the abdomen.

“This strike… is for all the innocent lives you’ve harmed.”

The final blow plunged deep into his chest.

Xie Yu said nothing, nor did he move.

He was crying.

“I didn’t know… I’m sorry.”

The once-glorious Demon Lord’s eyes were red, and his gaze toward her was filled with fear and broken affection; his voice choked with sobs: “Kill me… Kill me, and maybe you’ll feel better.”

“Kill you? Of course, I won’t kill you.”

Zhou Yimei stared at him expressionlessly; her voice suddenly tinged with laughter.

“‘I won’t let you die. I want you to live a fate worse than death, to reflect on everything you’ve done in endless humiliation’… Those were your words to me, remember?”

Now, she was returning those words to Xie Yu, her tone filled with mockery, disdain, and contempt, without the slightest hesitation.

Tears streamed down the man’s face, and Zhou Yimei paused slightly, frowning.

She said, “Stop crying. It’s disgusting.”

Behind the round mirror, the group was silent.

Ning Ning probably had a good idea of what obsession had condensed this Futu realm.

In the Demon Refining Tower, where no light reached, Xie Yu could neither live nor die, wasting away in this confined space, burdened with old wounds.

If this were a modern society with laws, it would make the headlines for the day:

“The net of justice is tight yet inescapable — a certain Xie, a serial killer, finally caught and expresses deep regret.”

It is reported that the man surnamed Xie was guilty of multiple crimes, including defamation, intentional homicide, and unlawful entry into a private residence. To follow further developments, tune in to the legal show ‘First Line’.

A real story of “tears behind bars.”

Did Xie Yu hate Zhou Yimei?

She had severed his bones and imprisoned him in the tower—of course, he hated her.

But did he love Zhou Yimei?

The woman who had been his forever untouchable “white moonlight” in his youth and who he had heartlessly betrayed — the answer was obvious.

His love and hate had no outlet.

Day after day, he suffered in his prison, tormented by regret, anger, and hopelessness, drowning in endless pain.

Zhou Yimei wanted him to live a life worse than death.

So what was Xie Yu’s deepest obsession, trapped in the Demon Refining Tower?

—He wanted to die.

If, on that day, Zhou Yimei had drawn her sword and killed him during her revenge, he would no longer have to endure any of the pain to come.

How pitiful.

Ning Ning wiped away fake tears, saying, “So tragic, so pitiful. It’s the kind of scene where even a passing stray dog would laugh out loud.”

Xie Yu’s lower body, too unspeakable to describe, was drenched in blood, making it even more indescribable.

Even now, his mind was filled with layer upon layer of thoughts about love and rejection, still foolishly hoping for a shred of forgiveness from the person he loved.

But Zhou Yimei had thrown the script right back in his face.

To hell with your tragic love story.