Help! The Villainess Trapped in the Beast World's Drama!

Chapter 396: Chapter 388: She Never Understood the Real Him

Shen Tang abruptly stood up and took several steps back, clenching his fists, glaring angrily at him, ”No, you’re not the Shen Li I know, you make me feel strange and terrifying!”

Shen Li’s smile remained at the corner of his lips as he leisurely spoke, ”It’s you who never understood the real me.”

Shen Tang suddenly found herself unable to speak.

Indeed, his true identity was the Emperor of the Yiyuan Empire, the former ”Shen Li” was merely a disguise, and now ”Ji Jiuli” was his true self after removing the mask.

She was too foolish, too naive!

Never truly understood him!

Shen Li poured two glasses of wine, handing one to her, ”I know His Majesty Night Glow had many misunderstandings about me in the past, why not, tonight you and I share a drink, and I will use this glass of wine to apologize.”

”Misunderstanding?” Shen Tang let out a cold laugh, her eyes full of mockery, ”I didn’t come here tonight to listen to your hypocritical nonsense!”

She suddenly raised her hand and knocked the wine glass from his hand, spilling the liquid all over the ground.

”Wasn’t deceiving me enough? Now you want to poison me too?” Her voice trembled with suppressed anger.

Shen Li stood stunned, his brow furrowed tightly, ”I didn’t...”

How could he possibly poison her with wine?

Yet Shen Tang’s eyes were only filled with cold vigilance, and her reddened eyes were full of distrust. She turned around to leave, not wanting to stay for even a second longer.

”Xiao Tang’er!” Shen Li’s breath caught, instinctively standing up and grabbing her wrist, pulling her into his arms. He knew, this departure would be forever.

At that moment, his rationality crumbled, he cupped her chin and unrelentingly pressed his lips against hers.

The warmth of his thin lips crushed against her lips, the long-repressed yearning surged up like a tidal wave, playful fish swimming and entangling, taking everything he could! Almost seizing all her breath.

Shen Tang stood frozen in place, tears streaming down her face.

She suddenly pushed him away, raising her hand to deliver a loud slap!

”Pa!”

The crisp slap startled the guards outside the door. They rushed in, only to be shocked by the scene before them - the plain-looking female had suddenly become stunningly beautiful, and their esteemed His Majesty had five bright red finger marks on his face!

The guards drew in a sharp breath.

This female...dared to slap the Emperor?!

Shen Li’s eyes turned terrifyingly dark, his voice seemed squeezed out from between his teeth, ”Get out!”

”Drag this treasonous female out and execute her!” the leading guard shouted sternly.

The next second, that guard was swept off his feet by a gust of force.

”I told you to get out!” Shen Li’s furious roar made the entire palace shake.

The guards finally reacted, scrambling to escape.

Shen Tang was so frightened by his roar that she took a step back, her back pressing against the cold wall.

Shen Li approached step by step, his towering figure casting a shadow, the familiar fragrance now deadly like poison, suffocating her.

She stubbornly glared at him, feeling no remorse for the slap - he owed her this!

Shen Li grabbed her wrist with such force that it seemed he might crush her bones.

Those usually affectionate fox-like eyes now ice-cold, staring intensely at her.

If it were anyone else, daring to offend the Emperor’s dignity like this, they would have been executed long ago.

No.

No one would have even the chance to get close to him!

But seeing her pained expression, Shen Li ultimately eased his grip. His Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice suddenly softening, ”Does your hand hurt?”

He said, ”Let me rub it for you.”

Shen Tang abruptly shook off his hand, eyes full of anger and mockery, ”Stop pretending! Do you think this little bit of false sentiment will move me?” Her voice quivered, ”I don’t want to see you, I never want to see you again in this lifetime!”

Shen Li’s hand froze in mid-air, gradually pulling back.

Those eyes, which always held a smile, were now brimming with unspeakable bitterness.

Shen Tang turned her face away, not wanting to spare him another glance, urgently asking in her mind, ”System, there’s one thing I don’t understand, if Shen Li is still alive, why did you previously determine him dead? And why hasn’t the character information been restored?”

[Host, at that time in the volcano, I indeed detected his life signs disappearing.] The system explained, [But now the information still shows dead status, the only possibility is...some external force interfered with my detection, preventing normal updates.]

Shen Tang was startled.

[There’s another thing I must tell the host.] The system continued, [I couldn’t warn you about the assassins before, I thought it was their issue, but after analyzing the environment with simulations...it’s the Earth Core!]

The system’s voice became serious, [It contains such strong energy that it interfered with my detection, and I suspect...the core is now with Shen Li!]

Shen Tang shivered, unsure how to vent her anger, the Earth Core was indeed taken by him!

The tragic farewell he staged was just to steal the Earth Core, making a perfect escape and removing suspicion.

Pitifully, she searched heaven and earth throughout the country, but even in death would never know, the item was in his hands!

Shen Tang looked at him with reddened eyes, ”Shen Li, your methods are truly brilliant, calling you a sly fox back then really did not disgrace your cleverness and cunning!”

Shen Li’s breath caught, he stared at her blankly, ”Xiao Tang, I...”

Shen Tang growled low, ”Don’t call my name, you make me feel sick!”

Her words were filled with blood and tears, ”You infiltrated the Empire for years, all along just wanting the Earth Core, that Secret Realm can only be opened by past kings, you went through such effort to support me, gain all my trust and dependence, just to use me!”

She let out a short, cold laugh, unsure if she was mocking him or herself, ”Back then in that underground ruin, you wanted to act against me, didn’t you? If you killed me, no one would know what happened that day! No one would even suspect you! But in the end, you still couldn’t bring yourself to be ruthless.”

”...”

”You feared I would find out that you had been manipulating me all along, and even went so far as to stage a tragic play, earning yourself a kindness card before leaving, making me remember you forever, think of your goodness, unable to forget you.”

Shen Li’s lips trembled, increasingly dry, unable to speak.

A tear fell from Shen Tang’s cheek, but there was no more sadness, no more anger, just dead stillness in her eyes.

She calmly stated the facts, ”Shen Li...no, His Majesty Jiuli, to get rid of me, you have truly gone to great lengths!”

”In your heart, I’m the foolish naive one, repeatedly played in your palm, you must feel very proud!”

Her words pierced the heart, each one like a poisoned needle stabbing fiercely into Shen Li’s heart. It hurt so much he could hardly breathe, his figure shook, yet he couldn’t even utter a word of defense.

Shen Tang looked at his pained expression, her lips curling into a bitter smile, turning to escape from here.

”Don’t go!” Shen Li, in a panic, grabbed her wrist, trying to pull her into his arms.

Shen Tang trembled all over, disgusted until her hair stood on end. Almost as an instinctive reaction, a sharp blade instantly formed in her palm—

With a ”pfft,” she stabbed it fiercely into Shen Li’s chest!