Fan Qiu, hiding in the room, knew she was finished the moment she heard Ning Beichen's voice. There was no need to ask; Ning Beichen's appearance here meant the Seven-Eyed Buddha was likely dead.
Fan Qiu had never experienced such panic and fear. She had always believed herself to be at the top of the food chain, able to look down on everyone. Even when facing the Seven-Eyed Buddha, she hadn't taken him too seriously.
But now, faced with a young bodyguard knocking on her door, she was terrified, trembling uncontrollably.
She was flustered, like a headless fly, but the knocking on the door was like the King of Hell's death knell, giving her no more time to think of a solution.
"Fan Qiu, my patience is limited. I'll count to three. If you don't open the door, then prepare to be buried with this house in flames."
Ning Beichen spoke to Fan Qiu inside.
He even had some gasoline left from burning the Seven-Eyed Buddha, which he took out and poured through the door cracks. A strong smell of gasoline seeped in.
Fan Qiu, hiding in the room, smelled the strong gasoline and was terrified at the thought of being burned alive, her soul scattering.
She could die, but she absolutely refused to die such an ugly death.
"Don't be afraid, he's just human. I still have a chance to turn things around."
Fan Qiu remembered a small pistol she had hidden in a drawer. It calmed her down slightly, and she quickly came up with a plan. She quietly unlocked the door, sat back behind the table, and put on a composed expression.
"Come in, the door isn't locked," a somewhat hoarse voice came from inside.
Ning Beichen's lips curved slightly. He then turned the doorknob, opened the door, and walked in.
Fan Qiu was alone in the room, sitting behind the table, looking at Ning Beichen calmly and deliberately maintaining her elegance.
Ning Beichen walked up to her and looked at her without speaking. This made Fan Qiu's heart race. She found herself unable to see through this young bodyguard at all.
Was he...
...really just a minor bodyguard by Liu Yilin's side?
"Ning Beichen, what do you want?"
Fan Qiu, made uncomfortable by Ning Beichen's gaze, couldn't help but break the unsettling silence.
"Miss Fan Qiu, shouldn't that be my question to you?"
"You had the Seven-Eyed Buddha curse me, arranged troops to bring me back, and tried to kill me. I also want to know what you want?"
Ning Beichen smiled at her, but his smile contained intense killing intent, making Fan Qiu feel a chill all over.
"Ning Beichen, you're mistaken. The one who wanted to deal with you was the Seven-Eyed Buddha. He wanted to kill you, and that was his purpose for coming here. It has nothing to do with me."
Fan Qiu quickly explained.
"Heh, Fan Qiu, do you think I'll believe you?"
"If you didn't want to kill me, why did you arrange for over twenty men to ambush me and shoot me in the back? Don't tell me you were welcoming me?"
Ning Beichen taunted her.
"Ning Beichen, I really didn't intend to kill you. It was all the Seven-Eyed Buddha. It was him, he said he wanted to kill you. It has nothing to do with me."
Fan Qiu desperately explained.
In reality, she hadn't intended to kill Ning Beichen. She only wanted to find out the whereabouts of the other nine palaces from him. As for whether he lived or died after she got them, Fan Qiu didn't care.
"Fan Qiu, the Seven-Eyed Buddha is dead. He can't take the blame for you anymore. He died miserably in the flames, but not by my hand. He died at the hands of his own insects. His body was gnawed by the insects he raised until only the skin was left, shriveled and dry. It was so tragic, so unsightly."
"I couldn't bear to see it, so I used fire to send him and those insects to the underworld together. He did so many bad deeds; perhaps he'll be cast into the eighteenth level of hell."
"So don't use the Seven-Eyed Buddha as an excuse anymore. It's meaningless."
Ning Beichen said to Fan Qiu leisurely.
"Ning Beichen, I swear, I truly never intended to kill you. It was really the Seven-Eyed Buddha. Do you know that the Seven-Eyed Buddha's purpose for entering the country this time was to deal with you, even to the point of breaking his own solemn vows?"
Fan Qiu kept defending herself, trying to push everything onto the Seven-Eyed Buddha. After all, he was dead, and there was no one to contradict her. She even mentioned how the Seven-Eyed Buddha had helped her when she was in Thailand.
Her final plea was that she had only hosted the Seven-Eyed Buddha out of gratitude and had no connection to him, nor any intention of killing Ning Beichen.
"Fan Qiu, does it matter if I believe you? It's not important. You should understand that your words mean nothing to me!"
Ning Beichen grinned at her.
"Fine, Ning Beichen. It doesn't matter if you don't believe me. The Seven-Eyed Buddha is dead, but you're unharmed now, aren't you? That should be enough to vent your anger."
"Name your price. Do you want money or people? I can give you both."
"If... if you want me, I'll agree too."
Fan Qiu took off her coat in front of Ning Beichen. She was not wearing a bra underneath, and she feigned a shy look.
To be honest, Fan Qiu was not ugly. Far from it; she was beautiful.
A woman in her thirties is at the peak of her sensuality. Unlike the innocence of a young girl, she possessed a charm that was extremely attractive to men.
But Ning Beichen looked at her without any change in his expression, as if she were not a woman but an indifferent skeleton in red.
Seeing Ning Beichen unmoved, Fan Qiu quickly changed tactics. "If you want money, that's fine too. As long as you promise to let me go, I and my wealth are yours."
Ning Beichen stared at her for several minutes, making Fan Qiu uneasy. She had no idea what Ning Beichen truly wanted.
However, Fan Qiu didn't genuinely intend to give herself and her wealth to Ning Beichen. These words were merely a ruse to mislead him.
"Are you done acting?"
"Actually, you're not very suited for acting. Do you know that? Your movements and expressions are too stiff and unnatural."
Ning Beichen didn't believe a word of her performance. The women around him were all celebrities or models. With her poor acting skills, she expected to deceive him? She was clearly overestimating herself.
"Ning Beichen, don't force me!"
Seeing that Ning Beichen wasn't falling for it, Fan Qiu gritted her teeth and said, her hand already gripping the pistol, which gave her some courage.
"What if I force you? What if I don't?"
Ning Beichen remained unfazed by her actions, speaking calmly.