The parking area outside Loop Nightclub was crowded with expensive cars and loud laughter. Neon lights from the club sign flashed across the pavement while music thundered from inside the building.
Xin Yi parked smoothly and stepped out of the car.
The moment she closed the door and began walking toward the entrance, several heads turned.
It happened almost instantly.
A group of men near the entrance stopped mid-conversation, their eyes following her without shame. A woman standing beside them nudged her boyfriend sharply when she noticed him staring too.
Xin Yi was used to this reaction.
Her long ginger hair shimmered under the streetlights, and the black dress she wore clung perfectly to her slim figure. Her pale skin and sharp gray eyes made her stand out even in the crowd of stylish clubgoers.
She walked with effortless confidence.
As she passed one of the men staring openly at her, she glanced back at him.
Her lips curved into a small teasing smile.
The man froze, clearly stunned by the sudden attention.
Xin Yi looked away again as if nothing had happened and continued walking toward the entrance.
Inside, the club was alive with energy.
Music pounded through the speakers while colored lights flashed across the dance floor. The smell of alcohol, perfume, and sweat filled the air as people danced and laughed loudly.
But something strange happened as Xin Yi moved through the crowd.
People stepped aside.
Some did it unconsciously.
Others simply stared, momentarily distracted by her beauty and the faint, sweet scent of her perfume as she passed.
Xin Yi ignored all of it.
Her attention was already focused on something else.
Or rather, someone else.
She walked calmly toward the bar and took a seat on one of the tall stools.
The bartender glanced at her with a polite smile.
"What can I get you?"
"Something strong," she said simply.
He nodded and began preparing a drink.
While he worked, Xin Yi rested her elbow lightly on the counter and allowed her eyes to wander around the club.
Her gaze slowly lifted upward.
There.
The VIP lounge overlooked the dance floor from the second level of the club.
And seated comfortably on one of the leather couches was the man she had come for.
Minister Jiangchen.
Even from a distance she could recognize him immediately.
Expensive suit.
Gold watch.
Two bodyguards standing nearby.
And a table filled with alcohol.
But what interested Xin Yi most was the way he was looking at her.
The moment she had walked into the club, his attention had locked onto her.
Perfect.
The bartender placed a glass in front of her.
Xin Yi picked it up slowly and swirled the drink inside.
The golden liquid moved gently against the glass.
Then she looked up again.
Their eyes met.
For a brief moment neither of them looked away.
Then Xin Yi smiled.
Just slightly.
Not too much.
Just enough.
Then she turned her attention away and took a slow sip of her drink.
Upstairs, Minister Jiangchen shifted in his seat.
Something about that brief smile had unsettled him in the best possible way.
He leaned toward one of his bodyguards.
"Bring her here," he muttered.
The bodyguard nodded immediately and made his way down the stairs.
Xin Yi watched him approach from the corner of her eye.
Inside her mind, she began counting.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
"Miss."
The bodyguard's voice came from beside her.
Xin Yi turned slightly toward him.
"The minister upstairs would like to speak with you."
He gestured toward the VIP lounge.
Xin Yi looked up again.
Minister Jiangchen raised his glass toward her with a confident smile.
She waved back politely.
Inside, however, her thoughts were far colder.
You truly have no idea what is waiting for you tonight.
Xin Yi placed her drink back on the counter and stood up.
"Lead the way," she said softly.
The bodyguard guided her through the crowd toward the staircase leading upstairs.
Behind him, Xin Yi allowed a small smirk to appear on her lips.
Everything was going exactly as planned.
The VIP lounge was quieter than the main floor.
Soft music and dim lighting gave the area a far more private atmosphere.
Minister Jiangchen stood as Xin Yi approached.
Up close, his smile widened with obvious interest.
"You must be the most beautiful woman in this club tonight," he said smoothly.
Xin Yi laughed lightly.
"You're very kind."
He gestured toward the seat beside him.
"Please. Sit."
Xin Yi sat beside him, crossing her legs gracefully.
His eyes dropped briefly to her thigh before returning to her face.
Carefully, he placed his hand on her leg.
Xin Yi didn't react.
She didn't push him away.
Instead, she smiled sweetly.
That was part of the process.
Part of the trap.
They began drinking together.
Jiangchen poured more alcohol into her glass, though Xin Yi barely touched it.
Instead, she encouraged him to drink.
Every time his glass emptied, she refilled it.
Every time he laughed, she laughed with him.
Slowly but surely, the alcohol began to take effect.
His voice grew louder.
His movements less controlled.
Finally he leaned closer.
"Let's go somewhere more private," he said.
Xin Yi tilted her head slightly.
"And where would that be?"
"My penthouse."
He grinned.
Xin Yi pretended to hesitate.
Then she nodded.
"Alright."
Less than half an hour later, his car pulled up outside a tall luxury building.
The bodyguards remained behind while Jiangchen and Xin Yi entered the elevator.
The ride up was quiet.
But Jiangchen kept glancing at her with anticipation.
When the elevator doors opened, they stepped into the spacious penthouse.
The door closed behind them.
Jiangchen moved closer immediately.
"You have no idea how tempting you are," he said with a grin.
But before he could reach her, Xin Yi suddenly pushed him backward.
He stumbled onto the bed, laughing drunkenly.
"I knew you couldn't resist," he said.
Xin Yi climbed onto the bed slowly.
Then she placed one hand gently on his head.
Instantly his smile faded.
His eyes rolled upward until only the whites remained.
At the same time, Xin Yi's gray eyes flashed bright purple.
Memories flooded into her mind.
Images she could not control.
Jiangchen shouting at his wife.
The sound of a slap.
Her crying.
Her head hitting the table.
Again.
And again.
Then something far worse.
Xin Yi's expression darkened.
When the visions ended, she looked down at him with cold fury.
"You're worse than I thought," she said quietly.
A knife appeared in her hand.
Jiangchen's drunken confusion turned to panic.
"W-what are you doing—"
The blade plunged into his chest.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
After the final stab, Jiangchen's screams slowly faded into silence.
His body twitched once… then went still.
For a moment, the only sound in the penthouse was Xin Yi's steady breathing.
She remained standing beside the bed, staring down at the lifeless minister with cold indifference.
"Hell will enjoy you," she murmured.
The knife was still buried deep in his chest.
Xin Yi reached forward and pulled it out slowly.
The blade slid free with a wet sound.
For a moment Xin Yi simply stood there, looking down at the lifeless man beneath her.
Then she flicked her wrist.
The blade dissolved into faint purple smoke and disappeared from her hand, returning to the infernal realm from which it had been summoned.
No weapon.
No evidence.
Xin Yi turned her attention to the rest of the room.
Her gray eyes flashed purple again as she raised her hand slightly, and a thin wave of dark energy rippled outward.
The blood on the floor vanished.
Fingerprints disappeared from the furniture.
Every trace of her presence—hair, skin cells, scent—was wiped clean as if she had never entered the penthouse at all.
Within seconds, the room looked untouched.
Except for the dead minister lying on the bed.
But the scene still needed a story.
Xin Yi walked toward the large glass window overlooking the city.
She raised her foot and kicked the glass hard.
The window shattered instantly.
Glass exploded outward into the night air, while dozens of sharp fragments scattered across the floor of the room.
Cold wind rushed inside the penthouse.
Now it looked like someone had forced their way in.
Xin Yi crouched down and picked up one of the larger shards of glass.
Without hesitation, she dragged the sharp edge lightly across her arm.
A thin line of blood appeared.
She made another shallow cut near her shoulder.
Just enough to look convincing.
After that, she struck her wrist against the corner of the bedframe, creating a bruise.
Only then did she toss the glass shard back onto the floor among the other fragments.
Xin Yi stepped back and allowed her breathing to become shaky.
Then she screamed.
A loud, terrified scream that echoed down the hallway.
Within seconds, heavy footsteps rushed toward the penthouse door.
The bodyguards burst inside.
Their eyes immediately moved from the shattered window…
To the minister lying lifeless on the bed…
Then to Xin Yi sitting on the floor, trembling and bleeding.
"H-He came through the window!" she cried.
One of the guards rushed to the shattered window and leaned out, scanning the darkness below.
"Damn it… he must have climbed down from the roof," he muttered.
The other guard hurried toward Xin Yi while his partner rushed to check on the minister.
Xin Yi lowered her head, allowing tears to fall as she clutched her injured arm.
But behind the curtain of her hair, her lips curved slightly.
None of them suspected the truth.
And by the time they realized something was wrong, she would already be gone.
As they turned away, Xin Yi wiped her tears.
And allowed herself a small satisfied smile.
Her mission was complete.