“Please, Mistress Kang, use your purification talisman on me.”
“Ren?” I asked, tentative. Hopeful.
His eyes squeezed shut, and he pressed the heels of his palms to his forehead, groaning. “I can’t hold her back for long. You must hurry.”
I stumbled to my feet, unable to believe it. His soul hadn’t quite left his body yet. He was still fighting against Yuyan’s control.
“I—I can’t,” I stammered, stepping toward Ren but afraid to touch him. “If I purify Yuyan’s spirit and remove her qi, your body will fail. You’ll die, Your Highness.”
“I’m already dead.”
“But—”
“You gave me a second chance once. This time, there’s no escaping it.” He lowered his hands and met my gaze. “But you still have a chance, Mistress Kang. Let me be a royal you can count on for once. Use my death to save yourself.”
“Don’t say such nonsense,” I said, mind racing to find a way to savehim. “You wanted to live a free, leisurely life, remember? What happened to the prince who only cares for himself?”
Ren cracked a wan smile. “It turns out that such princes are absolutely worthless. Their deaths will affect no one, believe me.”
I glared at him. “You’re not worthless to me.”
He winced, clutching the side of his head. When he regained his focus, he replied, “I promise you and your family will be taken care of. Once I’m dead, you can still return my body to Official Yi and receive a handsome payment for your services. It won’t be as much as we agreed, but it should suffice.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I argued, taking another step forward. “You can’t die, Your Highness. I won’t allow it.”
He backed away, holding out one hand to deter me from drawing closer. “What am I to you that you should hesitate? The sooner you end this, the sooner you can resume your journey without my annoying prattle. I know you prefer the quiet.”
I didn’t return his forced smile. “Now isn’t the time for jokes, Ren. This is your life we’re talking about. I can’t just take it away.”
“But you must, for your safety and the safety of this town.” He flinched again, his breaths quickening. “Mistress Kang, please. You must purify menow.”
“Ren—”
He doubled over, letting out another low, anguished moan. I felt as helpless as I had in the illusion of my mother, my thoughts utterly and uselessly blank in the face of another’s pain. Just as I reached out to touch him, his head snapped back up.
“So much talking!” he said, voice dripping with irritation.
I froze, recognizing Yuyan’s venom. “No.”
The jiangshi smirked as she tucked back a loose strand of hair. “How foolish to waste what precious time that boy stole for you. And here I thought you were a clever girl. Now you’ll just be dead.”
I thrust out my staff as Yuyan attacked. The jiangshi knocked it down, skin searing at the contact, and shoved me to the ground. I flung out my arms to break my fall and landed hard on my hand. A crack sounded from my left wrist. Hot, bright lightning shot up to my shoulder.
I screamed then, the pain so sudden and startling, I couldn’t hold it in.
The sound jolted Ren back into his body.
“Mistress Kang,” he gasped, hands trembling as he hovered over me, horrified. “I’m so sorry. I—”
“It’s not—it’s not your fault,” I managed. I could hardly focus on his distressed face, my vision wobbly from the pain.
“You have to stop me.” He fell to his knees beside me. With shaking hands, he pulled out one of the purification talismans I’d given him before and offered it to me like a knife. His grip was delicate, as if the paper burned his skin. “Do it for your father.”
I sucked in a tense breath, trapped by his mention of Baba. It was an unfair move. But Ren was right to use it. My father—my family—would always take precedence. Although I was loath to take Ren’s life, I had to choose.
Groaning at my injured wrist, I shifted onto my hip in a half-sitting position.
“Forgive me,” I whispered, accepting the talisman with my unhurt hand.
