Ahead, the road that should have offered escape had become an abyss of despair.
The villain had not appeared, but that invisible pressure weighed on Xu Baichuan's heart like a mountain, leaving him unable to breathe.
With both hands planted on the ground, he slammed his forehead against the cold earth with repeated thuds, begging ceaselessly:
"Spare me! Exalted envoy of Condensed Jade, spare me! I, Xu Baichuan, am willing to be your slave, your servant. I only beg that you spare my worthless life!"
His voice trembled, steeped in abasement, utterly unlike the haughty, insufferably arrogant disciple of the Xu Household's main lineage he had once been.
Fear had utterly destroyed his dignity.
"I... I can be a dog for the Condensed Jade Sect, a spy! As long as you let me go, I'll do anything!"
As though clutching a life-saving straw, he desperately tried to climb up, desperately searching for some worth in himself.
He even offered his Dao companion-Lin Miaoyu, the flower-beautiful daughter of the direct line from Si Snake Island-as a bargaining chip for peace:
"My lord, my Dao companion, Lin Miaoyu-didn't you exchange looks in the banquet hall? She... I can give her to you too! Just spare my life!"
Yet his words elicited no response.
Instead, a cold, clear voice rang out beside his ear. "We of Si Snake Island must have been blind to choose a useless, spineless fool like you!"
It was Lin Miaoyu. At some point, she had come to stand a short distance away, her eyes filled with killing intent.
As she looked at Xu Baichuan kneeling on the ground, abjectly begging for mercy, her heart filled with contempt and disgust.
"Xu Baichuan, you've disgraced the Xu Household's name and sullied my honor! You might as well die!" Lin Miaoyu