Chapter 238 - 106: I’m No Match for Her Acting; I’m Genuinely Afraid She’ll Lose Her Head

Jiang Lan walked inside and immediately saw Xie Jianjia sitting upright on the edge of the bed, unable to move.

"So it was you..."

Seeing him enter, Xie Jianjia wasn’t the least bit surprised. Her cool, elegant, and noble face revealed an icy disdain and loathing.

Song Youwei waved her delicate hand, and the ropes binding Xie Jianjia’s hands and feet transformed into a streak of light, flying back into her sleeve.

She also knew to take her leave, retreating and closing the door behind her.

"Was it that hard to guess?" Jiang Lan said unhurriedly as he walked toward her.

Xie Jianjia made no effort to hide the disgust on her face. "Don’t even think about touching me," she said. "I would rather die than let you get what you want."

Jiang Lan smiled and looked down at her calmly. "You don’t have a shred of cultivation right now," he said. "Are you sure you can even take your own life?"

’He could clearly sense that from the moment he’d stepped into the room, Xie Jianjia had been playing along, acting with him. On the surface, she seemed icy and full of loathing, but in reality, she was perfectly calm and composed on the inside.’

’As expected of the Witch who had Xiao Teng and the Xie Family wrapped around her little finger. Her acting was so good that even Jiang Lan felt a little ashamed of his own skills.’

Xie Jianjia seemed to falter for a moment, then looked at him coldly. "That Rejuvenating Turtle Breath Pill you left... what exactly is wrong with it? Why can’t I access my cultivation?"

This was the question she had been racking her brain over, the one she couldn’t solve.

Xiao Teng had clearly taken the Elixir Pill to the National Master and others for inspection, and they had all certified that there was nothing wrong with it.

So how had she fallen into the trap?

Jiang Lan said unhurriedly, "You want to know?"

Xie Jianjia’s voice was filled with icy contempt. "No, I don’t. I just think you’re despicable and shameless."

Jiang Lan gave a faint smile. "If you don’t want to know, then why did you ask?"

The reason Rejuvenating Turtle Breath Pills could conceal one’s aura and hide from heavenly scrutiny was because the ingredients used in their refinement included ten-thousand-year-old Profound Turtle True Blood and its shell—a racial trait.

They could no longer be produced today because the main ingredients were scarce, and also because the Profound Turtle Race had destroyed the Elixir Recipe.

But Jiang Lan possessed the legacy of the Four Saints Ancient Celestial Skill.

He had integrated a wisp of the Black Tortoise Divine Form into the Rejuvenating Turtle Breath Pill, supplanting the remnant Profound Turtle aura within it.

The bloodline aura of the Black Tortoise was far more noble and powerful than that of the Profound Turtle.

Never mind a layman like Ge Qixing; even Xiao Yingyue might not have noticed the truth. At most, she would only have guessed that the main ingredient used to refine this Rejuvenating Turtle Breath Pill was far more precious than ordinary materials.

In other words, the moment Xie Jianjia swallowed the Rejuvenating Turtle Breath Pill, her cultivation was already under Jiang Lan’s control.

Jiang Lan could allow her to recover her cultivation, or with a single thought, seal it, reducing her to an ordinary person, just as she was now.

Of course, unless Xie Jianjia’s cultivation one day far surpassed his, allowing her to perform a Refinement and break that wisp of the Black Tortoise Divine Form, her power would forever remain under Jiang Lan’s control.

Xie Jianjia bit her lip, not expecting Jiang Lan to refuse to take the bait.

She had thought Jiang Lan would be even easier to fool than Xiao Teng, but now she realized things were not at all as she had imagined.

"Miss Xie, you’re a smart woman. That day in the Observatory’s prison, I made things very clear, but you paid me no mind."

"Here and now, who are you hoping will come save you? That darling lover of yours, Xiao Teng?"

Jiang Lan walked over and grabbed her by the chin.

A red mark instantly appeared on her fair, jade-like skin.

Xie Jianjia’s face was a mask of shame, fury, and ice. She tried to pull her head away.

But Jiang Lan held her chin firmly, forcing her to face him. "Look at me," he commanded.

Xie Jianjia’s expression was frigid. She said nothing.

’That mysterious woman is definitely still outside. This isn’t the right time to make a move.’

’Her delicate hands clenched into fists, and a boundless, icy killing intent rose in her heart. In her past life or this one, no one had ever dared to treat her this way.’

"If you had just been obedient in prison and agreed to my demands, you wouldn’t have ended up in this miserable state."

Jiang Lan reached out, his hand trailing downward as he continued to look down at her, as if to drink in every last trace of shame and icy fury on her face.

Xie Jianjia trembled, her hands clutching the silk quilt so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"A pity your darling Xiao Teng isn’t here."

"Otherwise, I would have loved for him to see the state of the woman he so admires and adores."

’Jiang Lan hadn’t expected her to have this much self-control.’

’As a former ancient Great Power of the Demon Race, even with her cultivation sealed, she was by no means someone an ordinary person could handle.’

’He was perfectly aware that Xie Jianjia still had a few tricks up her sleeve.’

"Young Master Jiang, why must you make things so difficult for a weak woman like me? Because we offended you, my entire Xie Family has been ruined. My father and brothers had their cultivation crippled and were exiled to the borderlands. Without their cultivation, in such a desolate and dangerous place... they could die any day."

"Although my cultivation was spared, I’m no different from a helpless woman now."

"As far as I know, my Xie Family never offended you before, Young Master Jiang. And yet, we’ve suffered such an unmitigated disaster..."

"I beg you, Young Master Jiang, please let me go..."

Seeing Jiang Lan become seemingly more brazen and unrestrained, Xie Jianjia’s face, which had been a mask of cold loathing, finally seemed to contort with fear and panic at her perilous situation. Her previous composure was gone.

She shrank back toward the corner of the bed, clutching the brocade silk quilt tightly, as if it were the only thing that could offer her a shred of security.