Chapter 1557: Point of No Return III

His eyes remained hollow, stripped of warmth, filled instead with something cruel and predatory. The faint curve of his lips twisted into a chilling grin.

Against the glow of the immortal flame, his flawless features appeared almost unearthly, beautiful in a way that bordered on monstrous. For a fleeting moment, he looked less like a man and more like a demon clawing its way out of hell itself.

Calista’s legs trembled uncontrollably. The certainty settled deep within her bones—there was no surviving this.

Then her gaze snapped toward Lory. "I... I’ll tell you everything," she stammered, desperation choking her voice. "Ju... just let me and my sister live." Her eyes burned with pleading urgency.

Judging from how Zhao Li Xin acted around Lory, Calista felt instinctively that only Lory could stop him. Zhao Li Xin’s gaze flicked toward his wife. The corner of his lips lifted into a faint, almost playful smirk.

Calista did not know that he had never intended to kill her or Ceila in the first place—but how could she possibly believe that? Every movement he had made carried merciless finality.

Around Lory, the translucent barrier dissolved quietly, dispersing into thin strands of fading light now that the brief clash had ended. She had expected their resistance to be short-lived. After all, they had been foolish enough to stand against not merely a warrior, but the most powerful cultivator in existence.

"Oh, really?" Lory rested her chin lazily against her palm, her elbow braced against her knee as she studied Calista with mild amusement. "And how am I supposed to believe you?" she asked, her tone light, almost teasing.

Calista swallowed hard. "That..." Her eyes flickered nervously toward Zhao Li Xin before returning to Lory. "...I can show you." Calista slowly stretched out her hand.

With trembling fingers, she turned her hand and showed her wrist. "They put something inside me... an implant," she whispered.

She began walking toward Lory, her steps unsteady, cautious, almost fragile, as though she feared collapsing before reaching her.

Zhao Li Xin’s eyes narrowed. Something about her movement felt wrong. Too deliberate. Too calculated beneath the mask of desperation. The immortal flame behind him flickered faintly, responding to his rising suspicion.

"Stop there," he said coldly.

But Calista staggered forward another step, her breathing shallow, her gaze fixed on Lory as if she were clinging to her last sliver of hope.

"Please... just look..." She insisted.

Lory’s brows knitted together closely; the alarm inside her head rang.

All of a sudden, Calista’s palm snapped open, and a green flower burst from her palm, blooming violently in an instant. Its petals split apart, revealing a pulsating core dripping with venomous light.

Without hesitation, Calista lunged forward, aiming to shove the flower straight into Lory’s mouth.

Zhao Li Xin’s aura flared. "LORY—!"

But before the attack could be completed—

"Ah—"

A shard of glass whistled through the air and struck true, shattering the flower mid-bloom. Petals exploded outward, scattering like fragments of blood and jade before Calista’s widened eyes.

Her movement stopped.

She stared in disbelief as frost crept over her fingers, sealing them in translucent ice. The cold raced up her hand, swallowing her wrist, her arm, then to her shoulder, spreading across her chest and down to her legs at a rapid speed. In the span of a single heartbeat, the frost claimed her entirely.

Calista became an ice statue.

Frozen mere inches from Lory, her body stood locked in place, her expression caught between desperation and murderous intent. Layers of flawless, glimmering ice encased her, shimmering faintly beneath the fractured light of the ruined villa.

Lory stood before her, gazing into Calista’s empty, frozen eyes. In her palm remained a jagged shard, once part of the vial Calista had drunk from, now crushed in Lory’s own hand.

She had anticipated the betrayal. And ironically, it was that very vial she had kept that became the instrument of Calista’s downfall.

Lory released a slow, weary sigh, "Look what you made me do..." she murmured softly, there’s a hint of regret in her voice.

"She deserves it." Zhao Li Xin walked to Lory’s side, his gaze fixed on Calista’s frozen form.

His eyes were laced with resentment as he stared at the ice statue. There was no pity, only unfiltered disdain. In his opinion, Calista was fortunate that Lory had merely frozen her. Had it been him, Calista would have already been reduced to ashes.

Moments later, two Noxcra agents—disguised until now as neighboring residents- entered the ruined room. They wore tactical black suits, masks concealing half their faces. The instant they stepped inside, they bowed courteously toward Lory.

"Your Highness."

Lory turned her gaze to them. "What about Derek and Myra Worthington?"

"We have already taken care of them," one of the Noxcra agents replied calmly.

"Good." Lory gave a slight nod. "Take these two back to headquarters. Tell Fargo I want everything they know—every connection to Lucia Viora. Nothing left out."

"Yes, Your Highness," the agents answered in unison.

"Also," Lory added, sweeping her eyes over the shattered room, the broken glass, the scorched walls, "send someone to clean all of this up tonight." She waved her hand dismissively.

"Yes, Princess," they replied again.

With that, Lory reached for Zhao Li Xin’s hand. Without another glance back, the two of them left the wreckage behind and headed toward the second floor, the chaos and frozen hatred fading into silence behind them.

Morning arrived in silence. Sunlight slipped through the narrow gap between the curtains, a pale blade cutting across the room.

A groan sounded from beneath the blankets.

A moment later, Lory kicked the covers aside and pushed herself upright. She sat on the bed in silence, staring blankly at the wall, as if waiting for her soul to fully return from wherever sleep had dragged it.

Meanwhile, Zhao Li Xin had been awake for quite some time. He had finished cultivating within his ring and emerged refreshed and composed, as though the chaos of the previous night had never happened.

He sat on the sofa, idly playing with his cell phone while quietly observing Lory as she went through the slow, familiar process of reclaiming her consciousness.

Her wavy hair had completely come undone, tangled into a mess like a bird’s nest. Her eyes were slightly puffy, her cheek faintly red from pressing too long against the pillow. She looked like an overworked corporate slave who had finally collapsed after a week of chasing impossible deadlines.

Zhao Li Xin watched her with a mix of pity and amusement. "You’re awake?" he said softly, rising to his feet. He handed her a glass. "Drink first." He knew her habits too well.

Lory accepted the water automatically, barely registering his presence. Only after she had drained half the glass did her eyes sharpen, awareness finally settling in.

She handed the glass back, then promptly flopped backward onto the bed again, stretching her limbs while rolling on the bed with a long, dramatic groan.

"Tired?" Zhao Li Xin chuckled.

"Mmm... a bit," Lory murmured. "I think I’m getting old..." She turned onto her back, staring at the ceiling with the same distant expression.

"I thought gifted people kept their youth longer," Zhao Li Xin said as he sat beside the bed, watching her antics. "You know, like cultivators."

"Oldness isn’t a matter of the body," Lory replied solemnly, still staring upward. "It’s the soul...Sometimes I feel like a hundred years old."

Zhao Li Xin laughed softly, his usually cold expression touched by a rare warmth, one reserved only for her. "Fine then, old lady. Do you want to stay in bed, or do you want the macarons I bought this morning?"

At the word macarons, Lory’s eyes lit up instantly. "Is there salted caramel?" she asked, hope shining brightly as she turned to him.

"Yes," Zhao Li Xin replied. "Cranberry, blueberry... and a new flavor, called Peanut butter." He frowned slightly. "Honestly, I don’t actually know what peanut butter is..."

"I’m up!" Lory sprang out of bed in a flash and dashed toward the bathroom. The door slammed shut behind her.

Zhao Li Xin stared at it for a second and then burst out laughing.

He was not someone who laughed easily. He rarely even smiled sincerely. Yet ever since Lory had entered his life, laughter had begun to come more naturally to him. It was something the Meng brothers and the other subordinates noticed and quietly cherished.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons they accepted Lory so easily. A woman who had appeared out of nowhere... yet somehow made their cold, fearsome leader feel unmistakably human.

Lory finally woke completely beneath the hot shower, but she had no intention of wasting time, not when a box of delicious macarons was waiting for her.

She didn’t bother with a hair dryer. Instead, she used her wind gift to dry her hair faster, leaving her wavy locks slightly frizzy. But, she didn’t care. Lory grabbed a scrunchie lying on the table, then twisted her hair into a messy bun and hurried downstairs.

Once she arrived at the kitchen, the whole room had fully repaired. Everything looked brand new, as though nothing had happened, no shattered glass, no scorched walls, nor blood; there’s no single trace of violence left. Everything was clean, pristine, normal.

Near the giant glass window stood a small rectangular dining table, meant for only two. Morning light poured through the glass, bathing the space in a gentle glow.

Zhao Li Xin sat in one of the chairs, sipping wine with effortless elegance. Lory strode toward the table with a bright smile, her eyes fixed on the colorful macarons arranged neatly on the table, excitement plainly written across her face.

Lory slid into the chair across from Zhao Li Xin without ceremony. She immediately reached for a salted caramel macaron, her eyes gleaming like a child who had been promised treasure.

The delicate shell cracked softly beneath her teeth, the creamy filling melting across her tongue. Soon after, a satisfied hum escaped her. Zhao Li Xin’s eyes soften as he watches Lory happily indulged with sweet.

Outside, birds chirped freely among the garden hedges, utterly oblivious to the fact that only hours ago, the very same grounds had trembled beneath violent surges of power. The villa had been restored to its pristine, polished state. Even the air itself felt lighter, as though the chaos of the night had never happened.

"Fargo should begin the interrogation soon," Zhao Li Xin said, breaking the quiet.

Lory nodded, crumbs dusting lightly against her fingertips. "Mm. I hope he finds something useful; that girl is quite stubborn."

She paused, her cheerful expression softening slightly. "More will come, though," she added, her tone thoughtful rather than worried. "We should be prepared."

"We always are." Zhao Li Xin slowly twirled the jade cup between his fingers, with a charming but cold smile.