Chapter 220: "What do you propose?"
The air was thick with tension, and Yunning’s eyes fluttered open as she regained consciousness inside a dimly lit cave. Her body ached, her mind reeling from the spell that had rendered her helpless. Startled by the icy splash of water on her face, she gasped, struggling to catch her breath as her heart raced.
Before her, stood Queen Yana, her eyes the embodiment of darkness and cruelty. Yunning’s fear gripped her like a vice as she recalled how she ended up in this situation in the first place. She had been helping an old lady to safety when a powder was thrown in her face blinding her. She recalled hearing incoherent chants and before she could defend herself her vision turned black.
She woke up in this place her magic suppressed by the magic suppression cuffs like the ones she used on Eling.
She had already anticipated what Queen Yana wanted without her uttering a single word. The unspoken question hung heavily in the air, suffocating their surroundings. Yunning knew she was being used as a pawn in a dangerous game.
Summoning her courage, she locked eyes with Queen Yana, a firm resolve replacing her initial terror. The queen sought information about the type of poison she had administered to Eling. Yet, Yunning understood the weight of such knowledge and the potential consequences of revealing it to her.
Whether Queen Yana intended to use this information to bargain with King Luo or save Qie Xieling, she wasn’t willing to give it to her. She could at least buy time until he was dead to tell her what sort of poison it was.
Yunning’s voice trembled as she spoke, "What do you want? I am no use to you so just kill me already." Her defiance was remarkable. She was willing to die just as long as Eling suffered.
Queen Yana’s features twisted into a ruthless smile, the epitome of malice. With a swift motion, she grabbed hold of Yunning, her grip unyielding. "You think I am stupid, don’t you? Maybe an acid bath will jog your memory."
Without warning, Yunning found herself propelled towards a pool of acid within the cave, horrified at the impending doom.
As her body plunged into the seething pool, the pain that followed was unimaginable, her skin screaming with agony. Yunning’s desperate pleas for release fell on deaf ears as death eluded her grasp. The queen’s cruel punishment only fueled her determination to remain silent. She stubbornly refused to give up this information.
Queen Yana dragged her out of the pool and slammed her body to the ground. Yunning’s body trembling, she locked eyes with Queen Yana once more. Facing her tormentor’s sneer, Yunning summoned all her strength and defiance. The fire within her burned bright as she defiantly refused to yield.
"Now, are you going to be a good girl and tell me what poison you used on him?" asked Queen Yana while casually glancing at her once perfectly manicured fingernails. There were now chipped with black residue beneath them. It was unpleasant to look at.
"Go to hell," Yunning spat, determination lacing her words. She knew the fate that awaited her for defying this vile woman, but she would not let anyone ruin her chance for revenge.
With a burst of deranged laughter, Queen Yana hurled Yunning back into the acidic depths, intending to break her spirit. But Yunning, though battered and scarred, remained resolute. She would endure whatever torment was inflicted on her.
After several times of doing this back and forth, Queen Yana finally realised that she was using the wrong method. Like her Yunning was a woman in love only that the person Yunning loved had never loved her. She knew everything about Yunning and how this marriage was a fraud in the first place.
After dragging her out of the acid pool and slamming her yet again on the ground she said, "Okay, I see. You would rather the two of them die together."
Yunning who was still grimacing in pain couldn’t help but ask, "What... what do you mean?"
What did she mean? She meant that her half-brother was a half dragon. His obsession with things he treasured was beyond human understanding. This meant that if there is something he holds dearest to his heart and he loses it he might go into a depressive state and hibernate for a thousand years.
"Do you even need me to explain? You know his nature," she said with a sneer at the corner of her lips.
Yunning licked her dry lips her entire body as red as a tomato. If it weren’t that her clothes had a protection charm they might have been burnt to shreds.
"Come on Yunning. We are both women in love. I know you want him to love you but how on earth would you get to use the love potion when you are stuck with me in here? Let’s help each other," said Queen Yana. Her mother had told her how she had managed to get Eling in her hands. It was all because of Yunning’s betrayal.
"What do you propose?" asked Yunning the temptation very strong.
Queen Yana was very pleased with her sensibility. "I will use the poison as a way to bargain for my life and you... you can go free and use your love potion on him. You lose nothing. If you refuse, however... I will just kill you right here and you will die with no unmarked grave. No one will ever know what happened to you and everyone will forever know Eling as the dragon king’s lover who died young. He will be a martyr."
Queen Yana’s tongue was as poisonous as her mother’s. Like a snake, she was able to convince anyone to do her bidding as long as they had a weak state of mind and controlled by their emotions.
"How can I be sure you won’t kill me the second I tell you?" asked Yunning her cautious nature showing itself.
Queen Yana chuckled softly before saying, "Then how about a blood contract."
Yunning knew the depth of a blood contract so she agreed immediately. She didn’t like the idea that Eling would take her place even in death hence this was the best option for her.
While the two were creating a blood contract, Loviator was in the underworld cursing as she struggled to leave. She wanted to go back and teach that brat some manners but she couldn’t step a foot out of the underworld and she couldn’t understand why.
