"I'll stay with you tonight."

Su Xuan withdrew his gaze from the window and sat by Long Xiwen's bed, making small talk with her.

He was indeed a bit worried. He feared that the icy woman who could scale walls would suddenly climb through the window to assassinate Long Xiwen.

He had encountered more than one or two such figures from the martial world: the Zhao Wei senior and junior brothers of the Five Poisons Sect, Du Zilong of Du's Tai Chi, the flying dagger wielder Cai Ruifeng... Which one of them wasn't utterly ruthless?

But the burly man and the icy woman he had met tonight didn't seem like ordinary people from the martial world. Their abilities were almost supernatural...

"Su Xuan, do you know why I used to be so timid?" Long Xiwen's voice pulled Su Xuan from his thoughts.

"Why?" Su Xuan smiled warmly. "Were you frightened by something in the past?"

"Yes and no." Long Xiwen curved her pale lips and told Su Xuan a story.

It turned out her father had been an old police officer who died in an accident on a mission. He was shot by an outlaw with a homemade gun, his organs ruptured. She had been the one to hold her father's hand and see him through his final moments...

"My father held onto his last breath just so he could see me." Long Xiwen's eyes welled with tears as she spoke softly. "I held his hand, feeling the warmth in it slowly fade to cold. I've been timid ever since. I'm afraid... of death..."

Su Xuan gently patted the back of her hand. "I understand."

Long Xiwen suddenly grasped his hand, her beautiful eyes sparkling. "But I'm not afraid anymore, not at all! Ever since I saw you take a bullet for me and dare to fight that giant man head-on, I haven't been scared at all. Su Xuan, I learned it all from you. Thank you!"

Su Xuan's expression suddenly turned serious. "Don't learn from me. You should still be afraid when it's necessary. Fear is a human instinct that tells you to save your own life, understand?"

Long Xiwen nodded obediently. "I understand."

Su Xuan then grinned. "The reason I'm not afraid is that I'm confident I can control the situation. Take that big guy, for example. I felt I had no problem taking him down, so I wasn't scared at all. If I wasn't confident, I would've turned and fled without a second glance. I wouldn't have even spared a thought for you."

PFFT!

Su Xuan's comment amused Long Xiwen, but the laugh made her waist throb with pain.

She knew, however, that even if Su Xuan had to flee, he would never leave her behind. She had looked into his background extensively and knew he was extremely protective of his own people.

Long Xiwen looked at Su Xuan with a very serious expression. "Are we good friends now?"

Su Xuan tilted his head. "I suppose so. You've given me a commendation banner, offered me reward money, treated me to dinner, and even let me play with your gun..."

Long Xiwen couldn't help but laugh again. And then her waist started hurting again.

She suddenly realized that having Su Xuan at her bedside wasn't entirely a good thing; it was murder on her aching back.

Su Xuan's gaze drifted absently back to the window...

「...」

"Senior Brother, I'm sorry! It was my carelessness that got you involved!"

The icy woman hadn't fled far. She had been lurking on a nearby rooftop, watching helplessly as her senior brother was taken away by the police.

She then followed the police to a hospital in the city.

She hid on the rooftop of a building across from her senior brother's ward, peering through the window. Even in the hospital room, with her senior brother completely incapacitated, the police still had him in handcuffs.

Officers kept a constant vigil by his bed, interrogating him endlessly. But he kept his eyes shut, refusing to say a word.

The icy woman suddenly felt lost. She didn't know what to do next.

She had grown up in the mountains and rarely ventured into the mortal world. Even the clothes she was wearing had been bought in a hurry after she came down the mountain. She didn't understand this bustling city at all, and now that her senior brother had been captured, a sharp sense of loneliness washed over her.

Should I rescue Senior Brother first? Or should I continue with the revenge plan? Get a grip, Qi Li! You're not an indecisive person!

The woman, who called herself Qi Li, muttered to herself.

Just then, a figure appeared beside her like a phantom, a fawning smile on his face. "Junior Sister Qi Li, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Wei Junhao?" Qi Li looked up sharply, staring at the figure in astonishment. "What are you doing here?"

But her gaze quickly dimmed, her voice turning as cold as ever. "Don't call me Junior Sister. We're not even from the same sect!"

"We may not be from the same sect, but we're still neighbors!" The figure slowly walked to Qi Li's side, his smile growing even more obsequious.

His sect and hers were on opposing mountains, so calling them neighbors wasn't a stretch. His attire was also peculiar; he wore a long white robe, a stark contrast to modern city fashion, which gave him a somewhat ethereal air.

"Just say the word, Junior Sister Qi, and I'll rescue your senior brother right away. I'll even help you kill that despicable couple!" Wei Junhao added. "Especially that arrogant brat. He must die!"

"You saw everything?" Qi Li asked with a frown.

"I did, but unfortunately, I arrived too late to help," Wei Junhao said, forcing a helpless look onto his face.

"I don't need you meddling in my affairs!" Qi Li turned to leave, clearly repulsed by the man.

Wei Junhao watched her figure disappear from the rooftop and let out a heavy sigh. Junior Sister Qi, why do you always push me away?

He soon left the rooftop as well.

He didn't wander off. Instead, he headed purposefully in a specific direction until he appeared on a rooftop in Kangnai. He had previously overheard a conversation between Su Xuan and Zhong Huilan and knew Su Xuan was here.

There's no need to worry about Qi Li's senior brother for now. Staying in the hospital is good for him. I can kill that despicable couple first. I'm sure once Junior Sister Qi sees their heads, she'll smile at me!

Wei Junhao was likely unaware of the modern term that perfectly described his behavior: a simp.

He sat cross-legged on the rooftop and took out a small porcelain bottle. Unsealing it, he began to chant. A wisp of Dark Smoke immediately emerged from the bottle and hovered before him.

Wei Junhao then did something incomprehensible to an ordinary person: he bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a fine mist of blood onto the Dark Smoke. With a wave of his hand, he commanded in a low voice, "Go find them!"

The wisp of Dark Smoke drifted down from the rooftop and began a sweeping search.

The Dark Smoke was remarkably efficient. Within ten minutes, it appeared outside Long Xiwen's hospital room...

"Su Xuan, when I'm better, I want to go to your house and feed the pandas. I want to play in your swimming pool. I also want to..."

In the hospital room, Long Xiwen was fighting to keep her eyes open as she chatted with Su Xuan. But gradually, overwhelmed by the effects of the medication, her increasingly heavy eyelids drifted shut, and she fell asleep.

DRIP. DROP.

The fluid from the IV bottle dripped steadily into her bloodstream.

Sitting by Long Xiwen's bed, Su Xuan yawned and closed his eyes as well.

A wisp of Dark Smoke suddenly squeezed through the gap in the window, diffusing into the hospital room...

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