"Boy, you may be as slippery as they come, but your senior sister may not be as sly as you are. Heh heh." As soon as the old man finished speaking, he instantly cast a binding spell on my throat. I was rendered speechless at once, unable to utter a single word.
The old man immediately appeared before the astonished Xianli. Just as she was about to leap up, he seized her chin, then tossed a pitch-black pill he had been holding into her mouth and made her swallow it whole.
Before long, Xianli's face began alternating between black and white. There was no doubt about it—the old man had fed her poison. I gritted my teeth and glared at him, but there was nothing I could do.
"You! What are you trying to do? Gah!" Xianli hurriedly retched, but clearly she could not throw anything up.
The old man sneered and said, "Stop struggling. It isn't exactly poison. They're merely some delayed-ignition pills your grandpa refined. Once the time comes, if you haven't been given the antidote, you'll burn until nothing remains but a crystal. When that happens, don't blame this old man for refining that crystal."
"What? You're horrible!" Xianli nearly fainted from anger, but the old man did not see it that way. He continued, "Little girl, if you want someone to blame, blame your junior brother for being dishonest. You can't blame your grandpa for being ruthless. I know he isn't afraid of death, but he must be afraid of you dying, right?"
"You're despicable!" Xianli ground her teeth in fury.
The old man was extremely satisfied and continued asking, "All right, your grandpa will ask you one question now, and you'll answer one question. Otherwise, I won't merely do this to you—I will also torment