Chapter 230 - 230: 110 Heartbeat (Second Update)
Chapter 230 - 230: 110 Heartbeat (Second Update)
It was past ten o’clock, and Zhu Mingjing was heading to the suburbs in the middle of the night instead of sleeping. Why?
They finally stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts.
Qu Feitai didn’t follow them in and parked by the side of the road.
As the car door opened, he saw Zhu Mingjing get out, her white dress very conspicuous in the pitch-black night.
The driver wanted to follow her in, but she said something to him, and he stayed put.
Then she walked in alone.
Qu Feitai furrowed his brow, sensing that something was amiss.
He stealthily got out of the car and circled around to the back of the warehouse through the fields.
There were piles of firewood and a few skylights with broken glass, leaving only the old window lattices.
Qu Feitai decided to climb the firewood piles. The warehouse was generally over three meters high, with the firewood piles just over half a meter high, and there was still some distance from the top of the piles to the highest point.
Qu Feitai leaped upward and successfully grabbed the window lattice. He had always been fond of exercising, and his arm strength and jumping ability were astonishing, so he easily climbed up.
Qu Feitai peeked through the lattice into the warehouse, which was large and dimly lit on the east side, while his position in the west was blocked by some shelves, so he couldn’t see the east side, and the people there couldn’t see him either.
Qu Feitai crawled through the window, rolled on the ground, and landed. At this moment, he heard a woman’s sharp voice: “Ming Jing… Ming Jing, save me!”
Qu Feitai’s frown deepened.
Kidnapping?
The kidnapped person was none other than Zhu Xiangxiang.
At this moment, Zhu Xiangxiang was tied up and hanging in mid-air, shouting for help as soon as she saw Ming Jing enter.
Zhu Xiangxiang regretted her actions deeply, cursing Zhou Ling for deceiving her.
At that moment, Zhou Ling emerged from the darkness, clapping her hands mockingly, “Zhu Mingjing, I didn’t expect you to actually come. Should I say you’re too naive or too confident?”
Behind her, two foreign-looking, burly men with bulginz muscles and cold
eyes followed, clearly well-trained fighters.
Ming Jing showed no fear, calmly staring at Zhou Ling.
Zhou Ling furrowed her brows, wondering why Ming Jing still managed to keep her composure even at this moment.
“Zhou Ling, or should I call you Rose, that’s your code name in CS, right?”
Zhou Ling’s expression changed as the girl spoke, “You actually found out? It seems I’ve underestimated you all along.”
“People always have to pay the price for their foolishness,” the girl sighed softly, her voice tinged with sadness.
Zhou Ling scoffed, “No matter what you’re planning, it’s useless as long as you’re here today. Aren’t you fond of your good reputation? Today, I will turn you into a murderer that the whole Jiangzhou despises.”
Zhu Xiangxiang, who was still hanging, finally understood what was happening. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing and yelled at Zhou Ling, “You bitch, I’ll fight you to the death!”
As she spoke, her legs flailed in the air, her whole body swinging back and forth.
Zhou Ling and Ming Jing didn’t even glance at her.
“Ni Cai said, ‘He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”‘
The girl stood in the light and shadow, her pure white dress dazzlingly bright, with the pitch-black night behind her, like the gaping maw of a demon.
Her ethereal, clear voice echoed through the empty warehouse as if it were a judgment from fate, sending chills down one’s spine.
In the darkness, Qu Feitai froze in place, slowly making his way towards them.
That voice would echo in his ears for a long time, and even years later, he would clearly remember this night, the distant voice of the girl, and his own heartbeats close at hand.
“Zhu Mingjing, do you think showing off your eloquence will make me spare you? I’m not like those rich ladies you easily manipulate with a few words. Save your breath and save it for arguing with the judge in court.”
“You’ve ruined everything for me, and I’ll make sure you taste what it’s like to be disgraced and despised. I’ll ensure that people will despise you as a murderer.” Zhou Ling waved her hand, one of her men walked over and cut the ropes, dropping Zhu Xiangxiang to the ground in pain.
Zhou Ling reached out, and one of her men handed her a dagger. She played with the dagger while wearing a pair of leather gloves, walked over, her high heels stepping on Zhu Xiangxiang’s face, and smiled at Ming Jing.
“The real heiress of the Zhu family, jealous of the fake heiress, mutilated her face, and in a fit of rage, accidentally killed the fake heiress. How about that, isn’t that headline eye-catching?”
Ming Jing stared at her silently, her expression neither sad nor happy, her eyes filled with pity and nothing else.
Zhou Ling hated Ming Jing’s expression the most, she shoved the dagger into Zhu Xiangxiang’s hand and ordered, “Slash her face to pieces. I want to see if she can still remain calm then. “Zhu Xiangxiang shook her head desperately, throwing away the dagger.
She was wrong; she shouldn’t have conspired with a dangerous foe. If she had made a move against Ming Jing, she would be the next to die.
Zhou Ling grabbed her hair, forcing her to lift her head, and sneered, ‘Who are you trying to fool? You think you’re so kind when you couldn’t even spare your own foster mother from poison?”
Zhu Xiangxiang’s pupils shrank, and she shook her head frantically, “Don’t say that, I beg you, don’t speak anymore.”
Zhou Ling looked at Ming Jing with a creepy smirk, “Maybe soon, you’ll be holding a funeral for your dear mother. It was your ‘loving’ sister here who poisoned her. If you don’t believe me, just ask her.”
Zhu Xiangxiang wept bitterly, her voice hoarse as she screamed, “It wasn’t my intention! You forced me to do it! Ming Jinx, don’t believe her!”
Ming Jing continued to watch silently, her brow not even furrowing.
“Had enough?”
Zhou Ling was taken aback, carefully sizing up Ming Jing before incredulously asking, ‘You already knew?”
“Poisoning someone in front of me? It’s like trying to show off your mediocre skills,” the girl’s light tone carried a hint of disdain.
Zhou Ling muttered under her breath, “How… What about Lin Qing…”
“The poison in her body has already been neutralized by me. Only someone with a foolish mind like you could have come up with such a lowly tactic,” Ming Jing said coldly.
Zhou Ling’s breath caught in her throat.
Zhu Xiangxiang was equally shocked. She looked at Ming Jing in disbelief, her tearful gaze filled with regret and hatred.
So all this time, she had been nothing but a clown.
What was she fighting Ming Jing for, and what was she trying to take from her? She had been losing from the very beginning.
Zhou Ling gritted her teeth, shoved the dagger back into Zhu Xiangxiang’s hand, and warned, “You hear that? Our plan has been exposed. Do you think you can go back to the Zhus? Will Lin Qing still accept you? If you kill her, no one will ever know the truth, and you’ll remain as the only heir to the Zhu family.”
Zhou Ling had a change of heart; she didn’t want Zhu Mingjing to be discredited – she wanted her dead.
This girl was too dangerous; Zhou Ling couldn’t afford to give her even the slightest chance to make a comeback.
Only a dead person, after all, was the most obedient.
Zhou Ling’s voice carried a bewitching tone, but this time, Zhu Xiangxiang refused to listen. She took the knife and stabbed Zhou Ling viciously, “Go to hell, you bitch!”
Zhou Ling easily caught her wrist, and scoffed, “Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.”
With a swift twist, Zhu Xiangxiang’s face turned white as she let out a miserable scream, the dagger falling to the ground.
Zhou Ling slapped her across the face, sending her flying, “Useless wretch!”
Zhu Xiangxiang rolled over and hit her head on a shelf, knocking herself unconscious.
Ming Jing finally furrowed her brow.
Zhou Ling seemed to have found something interesting and said in surprise,
“You actually care about her life?”
Ming Jing spoke in a melancholic tone, “Every life is equally valuable.”
“Ms. Zhu, Master Zhu, I must say I’m very impressed with you. One might see you as heartless, but at the same time, you possess a compassionate heart. Yet your demeanor sickens me. If you really do have compassion for all living beings, why won’t you let me go?”
“Life may be equal in value, but not in virtue and vice.”
Zhou Ling gripped the dagger and took a step towards her, sneering, “Good or evil? Let me show you what evil truly is.”
The girl stood in the shadows, her face calm as she held a flower in one hand.
“Lay down one’s butcher knife and become Buddha on the spot.”
In the darkness, her slender figure emitted a faint golden glow.
That beautiful face seemed like the purest flower grown in the Evildragon Valley, fearless of all the evil in the world.
“To hell with your Buddha!” Zhou Ling yelled before lifting her butcher knife high.
The girl’s face was calm and fearless as she quietly gazed at her opponent.
In those clear, transparent eyes, Zhou Ling saw her own reflection.
Ugly, filthy, and ferocious…
Zhou Ling suddenly recalled the words Ming Jing had said earlier. When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you..