In Ye Fengxing's view, as long as the benefits were significant enough, Tang Xiaomin would weigh the pros and cons.
Tang Xiaomin would, out of consideration for how he treated her like Yan Jue, feel some reluctance to strike.
Tang Xiaomin's eyes were filled with intense sorrow.
The more Ye Fengxing resembled Yan Jue, the clearer Yan Jue's image became in her heart.
This only fueled her determination for what came next.
"Go back. Return to where you belong."
Her gaze suddenly turned glacial, like a legendary death stare.
The next second, her hand rose and fell.
*Thwack...*
The cleaver pierced Ye Fengxing's heart. Crimson blood dripped rhythmically onto the ground.
As the sharp pain hit, Ye Fengxing knew it was real.
She had truly killed him.
He didn't dodge. He hadn't intended to dodge from the start.
But now that everything had come to this, he truly couldn't understand.
"Why is this?"
His vision blurred, his thoughts scattering uncontrollably.
His body ached, but his heart ached even more.
He had told her he would give her everything in the Underworld. Why had it still ended this way?
He caressed her face, finally performing the action he had always wanted to.
"I love you so much, why did you still do this to me?"
He knew she killed him simply because she believed in karma, wanting Yan Jue to return.
If he hadn't held any value, she wouldn't have bothered.
Tang Xiaomin, having killed Ye Fengxing and felt his warmth fading and his life force weakening, showed no fear.
Instead, there was a sense of release, of hope.
"You never truly understood who you loved all along. Let me tell you."
"You loved the Queen of the Underworld, never Tang Xiaomin."
*Boom!*
Ye Fengxing's mind exploded, leaving it blank.
"So... you've always blamed me, blamed me for not protecting you properly?"
Tang Xiaomin's death was precisely proof that he didn't love her. This was an undeniable fact.
While he felt regret, his heart also ached deeply.
"No, I just wanted to tell you that Yan Jue has always loved Tang Xiaomin."
He lost.
This time, Ye Fengxing had lost completely, utterly defeated.
If he had harbored any hope before, Tang Xiaomin's words now pronounced a death sentence on his feelings.
The most terrifying thing for a person was facing their true self.
Whether he loved Tang Xiaomin, the one who worked tirelessly and submissively in the Tang family, he knew best.
He loved the later version of her—arrogant, unrestrained, and quick to act.
But that version of her was no longer Tang Xiaomin; she was the Queen of the Underworld.
"So, I lost from the very beginning. I was the one who didn't understand."
Before losing consciousness entirely, he looked at Tang Xiaomin one last, deep time.
With his last ounce of strength, he raised his hands and pulled her into an embrace.
It was the first time he held her, and it took all the strength of his life.
"Do you know, I'm truly happy now, because my wish has finally come true."
At this moment, besides the pain and suffocation, he felt happiness.
"You personally sent me back to that world; it is the happiest thing in my life."
An aura of death permeated the air, and the temperature grew increasingly frigid.
Ye Fengxing was dead, killed by Tang Xiaomin's hand.
Though dead, he somehow mustered the strength to remain standing, holding Tang Xiaomin.
Even in death, he refused to let go of her.
A gust of cold wind blew, lifting Tang Xiaomin's hair from behind her.
She slowly withdrew the cleaver from Ye Fengxing's chest, then pushed him away, placing his body on the ground.
Standing beside the corpse, she gazed intently.
Soon after, a spectral figure slowly emerged from the body.
Floating in the air, his feet a distance from the ground.
The ghost had long, dark hair, a robust build, handsome features, and an extraordinary aura.
His ethereal form made him appear mysterious and eerie, his presence several times more powerful than the corpse on the ground.
The true Yan Jun had finally reappeared.
A layer of dark clouds covered the sky, accompanied by low thunder, pressing down on the land. The air became heavy and oppressive.
"Hahaha..."
"I have finally escaped the cycle of reincarnation and returned!"
A hearty, yet eerie laugh erupted from Yan Jun's mouth. The surrounding air seemed to tremble, pulled by him.
It was clear that Yan Jun was ecstatic at this moment.
Tang Xiaomin's expression was blank, as if she saw nothing and paid him no mind.
At some point, she held a gasoline can and was carefully pouring its contents onto Ye Fengxing's corpse.
Out of professional courtesy, she had first dressed the body in a new suit jacket and placed a white flower in the breast pocket.
She stood before the corpse, closed her eyes, repented, and prayed...
She performed a simple funeral.
She tossed a lighter onto the corpse, igniting a fierce blaze. The air was immediately filled with the peculiar smell of roasting meat.
Yan Jun, suspended in the air, watched Tang Xiaomin's every move with an inscrutable, mocking gaze.
"Hypocritical woman, you were so ruthless moments ago, and now you're shamelessly doing this. Who are you trying to fool?"
Yan Jun mocked.
His words lacked the affection Ye Fengxing had for Tang Xiaomin, replaced by coldness and resentment.
He was like a different person.
Ye Fengxing was Ye Fengxing; Yan Jun was Yan Jun. They were fundamentally different.
Ye Fengxing was Ye Fengxing within the cycle of reincarnation, while Yan Jun was the king who ruled the Underworld.
He was the Yan Jun who deeply hated Tang Xiaomin and Yan Jue.
Tang Xiaomin met Yan Jun's gaze unflinchingly.
Although he appeared wild and unrestrained, exuding an evil aura, she felt no fear towards this former prisoner, this soul she had sent to his demise.
"Since you've returned, go to where you belong and reclaim everything. Cherish this hard-won opportunity."
Her tone was as if she were bestowing a favor.
"Haha... Hahahaha..."
Yan Jun laughed eerily.
Suddenly, his expression hardened.
"Then should I also thank you, Your Majesty?" SuDan Novel Network
He emphasized "Your Majesty," his anger burning, ready to erupt.
When enemies meet, their hatred intensifies.
Yan Jun was a tyrant. Under his rule, every corner of the Underworld was hell.
This was also one of the reasons why Yan Jue and Tang Xiaomin were able to gather followers and successfully rebel.
"Yan Jue is gone. Since you miss him so much now, I'll be merciful and reunite you with him."
As Yan Jun spoke, the surrounding temperature plummeted as if a blizzard had descended.
A massive, jet-black scythe slowly materialized in his palm, enveloped in an aura of death.
A wicked grin curved his lips. His handsome face now appeared monstrous and terrifying.