Chu Lingzhi thought he wanted her to give him a massage. Since sitting there was boring anyway, she stood up and walked behind him.
Just as she was about to ask where he wanted to be massaged, her gaze was suddenly drawn entirely to the orb on the computer screen.
"What a beautiful crystal ball!" Chu Lingzhi exclaimed.
How could there be such a stunning crystal?
Nangong Yehen curled his lips. "It's not crystal."
"What is it? A gem?"
"The legendary Suspended Orb."
Hearing this, Chu Lingzhi gasped. "The Suspended Orb? So that's what it looks like!"
With a thousand years of history, such legendary mystique, and countless generations yearning to possess it, Chu Lingzhi was no stranger to the name "Suspended Orb."
"Do you want to possess it?" Nangong Yehen looked up, glancing at her.
"No!"
"Answering so firmly without even thinking?"
Chu Lingzhi recalled the legend that the orb's fragrance could preserve one's youth forever, and it reminded her of her grandfather.
Her expression darkened slightly, and her tone turned sour. "A calamitous orb. I'm not worthy of possessing it."
"Calamitous Orb?" Nangong Yehen's thin lips curled at the name. "Hmm, it suits that name."
The Suspended Orb was indeed a calamitous orb. Everyone said it had the power of immortality, but no one had ever proven it.
Instead, the number of lives lost because of it was as countless as the stars in the sky.
Calamitous Orb—it fit perfectly.
"You called me over just to look at this?" Knowing it was the Suspended Orb, Chu Lingzhi lost all interest in admiring it.
"Don't you think I'm better looking than it?" Nangong Yehen caught the odd tone in her voice and asked with interest.
"What's the use of being good-looking? Killing people at the drop of a hat—you're just as much of a calamity."
Thinking of her entire family dying in that fire, anger and grief surged within Chu Lingzhi.
She wanted to curse the murderer of her family, but for her own safety, she had to redirect her anger at Nangong Yehen.
After all, he had just killed Lin Ling today.
Nangong Yehen's gaze darkened. "Are you blaming me for killing that woman who deserved to die?"
"What do you mean, deserved to die?" Chu Lingzhi's tone grew increasingly harsh.
"Any woman who harms me deserves to die!" Nangong Yehen's voice turned colder, losing its earlier pleasantness.
"Does that mean from now on, any woman who hurts you has to die?"
"It depends on the severity."
"Nangong Yehen, if I ever hurt your woman in the future, would you kill me too?"
"Right now, my woman is only you!" Nangong Yehen shot her a sharp glare.
His icy stare made Chu Lingzhi's heart flutter with unease. "Who knows if you'll have other women later."
Nangong Yehen swiveled his chair to face her, leaning back lazily with a half-smile. "Are you jealous?"
"What jealousy? I just can't stand your habit of killing at the slightest provocation."
Nangong Yehen's expression turned cold as he stared at her. "Being too soft-hearted is a disease. I believe you know better than I do how cruel this world can be!"
"..." Chu Lingzhi frowned. She knew, but that didn't mean killing was necessary.
"The people I kill are all those who deserve to die," Nangong Yehen said harshly.
"And Lin Ling deserved to die?"
Nangong Yehen raised an eyebrow. "Why shouldn't she? You were lucky to just get a concussion—what if you had died? Would you have been fine with her running you over?"
"..." Chu Lingzhi found herself speechless, unable to refute his words.
She stared at him blankly. "Are you doing this for my sake?"