A Shocking Dream

"Zhou Junze, don't think I'm unaware of your hypocritical behavior. If you keep talking nonsense, you'll be the next one to get beaten!" Lin Wunian was like a flaming blade, stabbing straight at Zhou Junze. Every word he spoke carried the power to pierce gold and split stone. "None of you will leave this place easily today. The matter of Ah Nian is just the tip of the iceberg of your evil deeds. Let's settle the old and new accounts today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the heavens seemed to react. In an instant, the sky exploded with a roar, thunder rolled like a thousand horses galloping, deafening everyone's ears. A fierce wind, like a prehistoric beast, roared and raged, instantly roiling the inn's courtyard. Sand and rocks flew, clothes rustled, and everyone's hair flew wildly, making them unsteady. Dark clouds surged like raging waves, piling up layer upon layer, swallowing up the daylight in an instant. It felt as if the world was being dragged into the abyss of darkness.

A streak of pale lightning, like a sword of divine retribution, suddenly struck down, instantly illuminating Lin Wunian's face. In that instant, she was like a furious King Kong descending into the world, her eyes ablaze with vengeance, gleaming brightly. Her hand gripping the dagger, the knuckles white. Her body stood erect, unyielding as the wind tore at her, like a deep abyss and a mountain, refusing to yield an inch, as if single-handedly suppressing the raging waves around her.

Zhou Junze's face showed fear, and he staggered back. His usual arrogance was blown away by the strong wind. He shouted in a cowardly voice: "You...you dare to do this! The Marquis is here, and he will not forgive you!" But his voice was torn into pieces by the strong wind.

Xie Yuan also had a gloomy face, but he pretended to be calm and snorted coldly: "Lin Wunian, don't think that you can succeed by using some tricks. I have been in Yingzhou for many years, so how can I be afraid of a little girl like you!" But the slightly trembling tone still revealed the panic in his heart.

Suddenly, the heavens opened their eyes in anger, and streaks of silvery lightning, like sharp arrows hurled from the heavens, struck down. The first bolt, like a dragon emerging from the sea, struck Xie Yuan with incredible swiftness and precision. In an instant, he was engulfed in blinding lightning, his ornate garments charred and smoking. His body convulsed uncontrollably, and before he could even scream, the rumbling thunder drowned him out. He seemed to be hurled to the ground by a giant hand from heaven, a horrible sight. His once-arrogant and imposing manner was instantly consumed by the lightning.

Then, a second bolt of lightning, like a dancing silver snake, lashed Zhou Junze with a destructive aura. His eyes widened, his face filled with terror. He tried to flee, but his legs seemed pinned down, unable to move. The lightning struck, instantly engulfed in the light. His hair stood on end, a burning smell filled the air, and his body collapsed to the mud like a puppet with its strings cut. His usual arrogance was now reduced to the convulsions of a dying man and the roars of despair.

At that moment, Yang Zishi had just rushed in from the inn, his steps stumbling, his face etched with panic, unaware of the sudden change within. Like a falcon locking onto its prey, a bolt of lightning, swathed in the might of heaven, struck him with immense force. He didn't even have time to scream before the lightning struck him, sending him flying and slamming heavily into the inn's wall, cracking the masonry. He then slowly slid down, blood gushing from all his orifices, his breath fading. His past abetting of the evil had finally met its final blow.

Everyone stood there stunned, their eyes wide open in shock. Lin Wunian's face was filled with horror, yet also with a faint sense of satisfaction. Qin Rongchen was the first to recover, his gaze blazing as he shouted, "This is the wrath of Heaven! Xie Yuan, Zhou Junze, Yang Zishi, you are so evil that even Heaven cannot tolerate you!"

The fierce wind brought torrential rain, pouring down like a torrential downpour, as if to cleanse the world of evil. Xie Yuan struggled to his feet in the muddy water, his face stained with rain and blood. In a desperate struggle, he roared, "This... this must be the work of some evil spirit. I refuse to accept it!"

Lin Wunian laughed out of anger, and that laughter was like the cry of an owl in the cold night, shrill and resolute, piercing through the noise in the wind and rain, and piercing the ears of Xie Yuan and others: "Evil magic? This is the law of nature! You have harmed Anian, slaughtered the people, and destroyed countless homes. Today is your retribution!" She was like a vengeful demon whose reason had burned out, her hair dancing wildly, rain sliding down her face, it was hard to tell whether it was tears or rain, only the flames of hatred in her eyes burned more and more vigorously.

With that, the sky, as if ignited by her grief and rage, exploded once more. Silver-white lightning, like a ferocious, hungry python, snaked through the clouds, instantly locking onto its target. With overwhelming power, it struck Xie Yuan, Zhou Junze, and Yang Zishi a second time. The first bolt, like a slashing blade, struck Xie Yuan squarely in the chest. His body instantly arched, his eyes bulging, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood. His internal organs seemed to be instantly shattered. The Marquis, who once dreamed of dominating the heavens, was now as fragile as an ant. He collapsed to the ground, convulsing, no longer able to struggle.

Immediately afterwards, the second bolt of lightning split in two, like two dragons emerging from the sea, striking Zhou Junze and Yang Zishi respectively. Zhou Junze, his face filled with terror, stretched his hands futilely toward the sky, as if trying to thwart fate's judgment. The lightning instantly pierced his body, his bones crackling and his flesh scorching. He rolled his eyes and collapsed, dead. Yang Zishi fared no better. The moment the lightning struck, his body exploded in a cloud of blood, sending fragments of limbs and body scattering. The stench of blood mixed with the rain filled the air, his death a gruesome sight.

Lightning bolts followed one after another, as if the heavens were determined to cleanse these people of their sins. They struck their bodies, leaving them charred and riddled with holes, devoid of any life. The earth seemed to tremble under this violent power, muddy pits churning, and the surrounding vegetation destroyed, leaving a devastating mess.

Lin Wunian stood in the rain like a sculpture, his eyes fixed on the broken bodies until the thunder faded away and the lightning disappeared, then he slowly collapsed to the ground.

Qin Rongchen's heart sank as he watched Lin Wunian teeter on the brink of collapse. Without a second thought, he lunged forward, swift as a cheetah, his long arms extended, embracing her limp form tightly in his embrace. An anxious cry escaped his lips: "Shuang'er, Shuang'er!" His usually calm and stern voice was now filled with panic and tenderness, each call seeming to penetrate the chaos and pull back her drifting consciousness.

Lin Wunian felt the world around her spin, a tangle of light and shadow. Her consciousness, like a dying candle, gradually weakened, nearly extinguished. Qin Rongchen's cries seemed to drift from distant clouds, ethereal yet persistent, hammering at her heart, becoming her last link to the waking world. In the haze, she heard hurried footsteps. Kanan hurried over, her skirt fluttering, her expression solemn. Without a word, she reached out and placed her hand on Lin Wunian's delicate wrist, breathlessly examining her pulse.

Lin Wunian felt as if her head had been struck by a heavy hammer. The excruciating pain surged like a surging tide, shattering her sanity. Drowsiness spread like thick ink, rapidly spreading through her limbs and bones, enveloping her in layers. She simply wanted to fall into a deep sleep. "My head hurts so much! I want to sleep so badly..." she murmured, her voice breaking and dissipating into thin air.

In an instant, she felt as if she had fallen into an abyss of endless darkness, all around her thick as ink, silent and hushed, save for her own faint breath. Suddenly, a blinding white light flashed, like a sharp blade slicing through the night, tearing the past apart. Images of her life flashed by like a revolving lantern, each one tinged with bone-wrenching sorrow and joy. The revolving lantern whirred faster and faster. She tried to reach out and grasp them, but her fingertips only slipped through the emptiness of light and shadow. Exhaustion filled her heart, like lead filling her body, making it hard to breathe.

At this moment, a strange suction force surged from under her feet, like a devil's hand reaching out from the darkness, mercilessly pulling at her soul, as if to drag her into a deeper abyss. Her body gradually became colder, her strength dissipated bit by bit, and her consciousness was shaky and about to shatter.

"Shuang'er, Shuang'er, don't die, don't die!" Qin Rongchen's desperate cries echoed like a golden thread, piercing the darkness and reaching the distant horizon. His voice was filled with panic, reluctance, and despair, each word hammering into her chaotic heart, becoming the only source of warmth in the darkness. But she couldn't respond. Her eyelids felt like a thousand pounds, slowly closing. Her body softened, completely fading into the darkness, her consciousness dissipating like shattered glass.

Qin Rongchen watched helplessly as Lin Wunian's delicate body collapsed, her face as pale as paper, her eyes tightly closed, her lips a dark blue, like a withered flower. He rushed forward like a madman, hugging her soft body tightly, begging her as if he could snatch her soul back from the palace of Hades: "Shuang'er, wake up. We promised to travel all over the mountains and rivers and see all the flowers. How can you break your promise? If you leave, this world will be nothing but a wasteland for me..." Hot tears burst out of his eyes and fell on Lin Wunian's cold face, but the person in his arms no longer responded, as if she was trapped in darkness forever.

Qianqian's eyes were also reddened as she placed her hands on Lin Wunian's pulse with trembling hands. After a long moment, tears streamed down her face. "Brother Qin, Sister Lin is barely breathing. This...what should we do?"

Qin Rongchen seemed not to hear anything, and only hugged Lin Wunian tighter, as if he wanted to use his arms to build a life and death barrier for her, and whispered: "Shuang'er, don't be afraid, I will chase you to the underworld, to the blue sky, as our fate is not over in this life, and in the next life, we will be together through life and death..." A strong wind suddenly blew outside the house, as if the heaven and earth were also grieving for this life and death separation. There was only dead silence and despair in the house, as if time had stopped in this moment of life and death, and it was impossible to move forward.