"Wh-what is happening?" Bai Yihong stuttered in shock, "Yichun, why are you at home?"

Bai Zehao also took a nervous step forward, but then feared Jiang Yichun's sword might harm Bai Ruolan, so he quickly halted and said, "Yichun, don't harm Ruolan, put down the sword and talk first."

Jiang Yichun let out a cold snort, "If I put down the sword, the ones who get hurt will be my wife and children!"

"How-how could this be?" Bai Zehao asked in disbelief.

Bai Zepei's gaze was deep, as if he had thought of something, but he didn't speak, just quietly watching Bai Ruolan. Have they cared for her so long only to raise a traitor?

"Don't interfere. She has been nurturing poisonous insects on her, and she comes here with those toxic insects precisely at this time. If not to harm Ruozhu, then what?" Jiao Ling said with a cold face, then glared at Bai Ruolan, "Your poisonous insects are out of control, right? Speak, what exactly are you planning to do?"

Bai Ruolan's face showed terror, shaking her head desperately, crying out foolishly, "Help me! Help me!"

"What poisonous insects?" Bai Yihong's face looked awfully grim, "Could it be that the girl was exploited when she was lost?"

Jiao Ling let out a cold hum, "You can refuse to admit it, but the poisonous insects you nurtured are now under my control. If you don't confess, I'll kill them, and let's see how long you can live after that."

Bai Ruozhu continued to pretend to be foolish, refusing to admit anything, but when Jiao Ling pinched her palm, she immediately screamed in pain, and fear filled her eyes.

"Hmph, you really dare to act. When did you discover the truth?" Bai Ruolan glared fiercely at Jiao Ling, no longer appearing foolish, leaving the Bai family stunned.

Jiao Ling scoffed, "It was Ruozhu who found out. Did you really think you were clever? You're not the only one who noticed there was something strange about you in this family."

Bai Zehao's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. Why hadn't he noticed anything? And that reminder from his younger sister a few days ago, was it also because she suspected Ruolan?

At this moment, Bai Ruozhu's voice came from inside the room. She had woken up, but her voice was weak.

"You stopped pretending to be foolish before the Laimei incident, right? Wasn't Laimei killed by you because she noticed your changes?"

Bai Ruolan laughed coldly, "It took you this long to figure it out, do you think you can avenge Laimei?"

Lin Ping'er was also awakened by the noise. She gritted her teeth and looked at Bai Ruolan, asking, "Ruolan, we cared for you like a daughter, and when no one was looking after you, we never abandoned you. How could you do this? What more could you be unsatisfied with?"

Bai Ruolan glanced at Lin Ping'er disdainfully, clearly showing no interest in dealing with her.

With a loud "slap," Jiang Yichun's sword scabbard struck Bai Ruolan's face, "Behave yourself!"

Immediately, Bai Ruolan's face swelled up, and she angrily glared at Jiang Yichun, "How could you do this to me? You have a cold heart!"

Jiang Yichun struck again, causing Bai Ruolan's other cheek to swell up.

After caring for her niece for so long, Bai Yihong was reluctant. He raised his hand to stop but finally just sighed heavily.

Inside, Bai Ruozhu spoke up again, "So when we left the capital, you wanted to escape on your own, but were repeatedly found. I suppose at that time your poisonous insects hadn't matured, so you had to let us control you."

Bai Ruolan's face changed, clearly showing that Bai Ruozhu's words hit the mark.

"On your way to escape with Uncle Zhang to Beiyu, you should have been able to protect yourself, so you left on your own. But later, you met Achun and pretended to be a beggar, using the chance to get close to him, right?" Bai Ruozhu continued. Ultimately, she was in good physical condition. After drinking the warm water handed by Min Ju, her spirit improved a lot.

"And that strange illness Gai Yalai had was actually caused by your poisonous insect because she offended you, affecting your persistence with Achun. As for how she got better when she reached Beiyu City, I reckon it was because you wanted her lively to create trouble for me?"

Bai Ruozhu sneered, "Later, Aunt discovered that there were poisonous insects at home, but you hid them in your own body, so she couldn't find them. When did you learn to raise poisonous insects? That's something I can't figure out."

"There are many things you can't figure out, why should I tell you?" Bai Ruolan's face was swollen, and her speech was somewhat unclear.

"Just kill her. I'm no saint. I won't spare anyone who threatens me or my children," Bai Ruozhu said coldly, her voice so icy that it sent a chill down everyone's spine. Everyone knew that Ruozhu genuinely intended to kill.

Jiang Yichun raised his sword and slashed at Bai Ruolan's neck. Seeing her head about to separate from her body, everyone widened their eyes; Achun was really about to chop her without hesitation!

"Stop!" Bai Ruolan screamed in fright, "If you kill me, then Bai Ruolan will die too!"

Actually, Jiang Yichun understood Bai Ruozhu's intentions; his sword swing was meant to scare Bai Ruolan into telling the truth. Otherwise, his martial arts skills wouldn't require such a cumbersome method to kill. A single instant, and Bai Ruolan's head would have hit the ground.

"Bai Ruolan?" Jiang Yichun asked coldly, "If you're not Bai Ruolan, then who are you?"

Inside the room, Bai Ruozhu's cold voice came out, "She's Wu Wanqing!"

Everyone was stunned; this-how could this be!

"Did she disguise herself?" Even Bai Zepei couldn't figure out this time.

Jiang Yichun shook his head, "No disguise."

Inside, Bai Ruozhu scoffed, "Let her speak for herself. If she refuses, kill her. Ruolan never liked being controlled. I'd rather let her be freed."

"I'll give you three seconds; if you don't speak, I'll kill you. Even if your head is chopped off, the poisonous insect won't survive, right?" Jiang Yichun said coldly.

Bai Ruolan's face filled with terror; she could sense Jiang Yichun's killing intent and Bai Ruozhu's cold-blooded callousness.

"Bai Ruozhu, she's your cousin. Do you truly not care about her life or death? I now see through you." Bai Ruolan spoke frantically, seemingly trying to grasp a thread of survival.

Jiang Yichun mercilessly slashed her shoulder, "Less nonsense. One more word, and I'll cut you again. Let's see how many cuts it takes before you're completely dead!"

"Stop! I'll talk!" Bai Ruolan cried out in pain.

"In the beginning, my master used a very powerful poisonous insect to create a life-carrying one for me. He said only my body could nurture it, but later, my senior brother killed me, and that poisonous insect possessed him, then quickly sought out Bai Ruolan. Maybe because Bai Ruolan lacked some of her soul and spirit, it was easier to occupy her body."

Bai Ruolan, no—Wu Wanqing sneered, "However, even then, I only woke up after a long time. At that time, I couldn't protect myself, not wanting you to discover my existence. When Laimei noticed something was off, I could only craft an abnormal accident."

Inside, Bai Ruozhu felt a chill listening to Wu Wanqing. She realized Wu Wanqing no longer needed to lie. She had considered that Wu Wanqing might have been reborn following death, revived in Ruolan's body. But she never thought it turned out to be a poisonous insect!

---

It seems some people feel fear or disgust when writing about poisonous insects, but this setting has been planned from the start. Attentive friends may have deduced it, for instance, when Achun took Gai Yalai and Ruolan to Beiyu, Gai Yalai contracted a mysterious illness, delaying the journey, thus allowing Ruolan more time with Achun without Gai Yalai getting in the way.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.