The backpack didn’t contain much, just a set of clothes, a tablet, two bottles of medicine, and...

Li Mochan’s gaze was captured by the swathe of purple silk beneath; he reached out, pulled out the piece, and unfolded the layer of purple silk.

The light from above seeped in, illuminating the treasure hidden within the silk.

A wooden sculpture of a person?

Li Mochan’s cold eyes paused momentarily as he took out the sculpture.

A faint scent of pear blossoms lingered at the tip of his nose.

The likeness was...

Him?

Li Mochan examined the palm-sized human figure sculpture carefully. Its lines were smooth, its facial features meticulously carved, almost a miniature version of himself.

His slender fingers gently caressed the sculpture as Li Mochan’s gaze drifted to the small characters carved on the sculpture’s shoulder.

The strokes were bold and unrestrained, varying in depth.

Childish.

Stranger.

One by one, his fingers delicately traced the characters, Li Mochan’s thin lips curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

However, the hint of desolation in his eyes grew even more profound.

Clutching the sculpture tightly, Li Mochan closed his eyes.

A moment later, when he opened them again, his eyes were a pit of cold desolation.

**

Downstairs, Wei Bei and the others were feeling melancholy.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps from the stairway and swiftly stood up.

Looking up, they saw a tall figure descending unhurriedly.

His deep eyes were filled with solitude; an inadvertent glance carried a bone-chilling ferocity and cruelty.

In that instant, two words involuntarily sprang to mind.

— Killing God.

"Master." Wei Bei timidly called out.

Li Mochan suppressed the chill in his eyes, "Where?"

Wei Nan and his companions showed troubled expressions.

They knew he was asking where Ye Jiuliang was.

But they didn’t know either.

After a silence, Wei Xi, observing Li Mochan’s expression carefully, cautiously said, "Master, we’ve searched, but there’s no sign of the lady at the airport. I believe the lady must have come here on a private plane."

And thus, she must have left on a private plane as well.

Before he could finish, a sharp glance shot their way.

Wei Xi’s hairs stood on end, and he silenced himself.

The atmosphere dropped to freezing.

Wei Bei and Wei Nan too had been baptized by that icy gaze, hardly daring to take a breath.

Not until the oppressive gaze shifted did their hearts start to quiver.

Suddenly, a low voice broke the endless silence, "No matter who she is, just remember, she is the future mistress of Dark Hall, and also the only wife of Li Mochan."

"I do not wish to see what happened last night, happen again."

Wei Xi and Wei Bei bowed their heads, their expressions respectful, "Yes."

Meanwhile, Wei Nan’s lips moved slightly, his expression somewhat complex.

Li Mochan said, "Speak."

Wei Nan took a deep breath and said, "Master, we know it’s not our place to question your affairs, but the lady’s background is too mysterious. We do not know with what purpose she entered Mo Garden. If indeed..."

He swallowed the rest of the sentence, while Wei Xi and the others understood his implications.

The Master had laid all his cards out in front of Ye Jiuliang, while Ye Jiuliang remained deeply hidden. If she were an enemy, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Li Mochan’s eyes grew colder, "She isn’t, nor will she ever be."

He understood his "wolf cub" better than anyone; she deserved his absolute trust.

Wei Nan and the others were taken aback.

They exchanged glances.

For a brief moment, they were unable to grasp the meaning behind his words. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Li Mochan abruptly changed the subject, "Prepare the car."

With that, he stepped out.

Wei Bei glanced at Wei Nan before following Li Mochan out the door.

After they walked far away, Wei Xi was troubled. "Wei Nan, could we have misunderstood Madame? She doesn’t seem like someone with ulterior motives."

Wei Nan sighed, "Let’s hope so."

...

Ye Jiuliang stayed in the pharmacy for two consecutive days.

During this time, a minor accident occurred in W City and Chu Chen had to rush over to assess the situation.

With Gu Xinuo left alone to care for Ji Mingqian.

Sunlight filtered through the window and fell upon Ji Mingqian’s pale face, his lips were as pale as water, slightly cracked and dry.

Hurried footsteps came from outside, Gu Xinuo looked up, and Ye Jiuliang came running in, flustered.

"Anuo, bring a cup of water here."

Her hair was slightly disheveled, and she was still wearing the same clothes from the day before yesterday. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot; having spent the past two days immersed in the pharmacy developing an antidote, she had barely closed her eyes to rest.

Gu Xinuo put down her laptop and stood up to pour water.

Ye Jiuliang pinched a green pill, helped Ji Mingqian to sit up, and stuffed the pill into his mouth.

"Water’s here." Gu Xinuo came over with a cup of water and gently patted his back.

Ye Jiuliang let him go and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She stepped back, slumped onto the edge of the bed, and massaged her temples, her head feeling heavy and foggy.

A cup of water was passed over, and Ye Jiuliang took the cup in her hand.

"Mingqian should be fine now; he’ll probably wake up in about two hours."

Gu Xinuo nodded, her gaze filled with concern as she looked at her, "You haven’t rested much these past few days. You should rest first. I’ll take care of Aqian here." She was probably the one who was most exhausted these past two days.

After finishing the water, Ye Jiuliang waved her hand, "I’m fine."

She looked around and didn’t notice Chu Chen’s figure, "Where did Achen go?"

"There was a problem in W City, and Achen went over to check it out," replied Gu Xinuo.

Ye Jiuliang frowned, "What happened?"

"It’s not clear yet. We’ll wait for Achen to come back and talk about it. You should really get some rest now, look at how haggard you are."

Ye Jiuliang hummed and stood up to walk outside.

In the afternoon, light rain danced through the air.

Raindrops pattered against the windows, tick-tocking away.

The bedroom was shrouded in darkness.

The figure on the soft couch suddenly stirred, turning over lethargically.

In the dim light, delicate eyes slowly opened, penetratingly cold.

Ye Jiuliang sat up, the blanket sliding off her.

She reached out to pull back the curtains, revealing the hazy rain, blurring the distance scenery.

She opened a crack in the window, and the cool breeze snuck in, brushing past her cheeks, and the remnants of sleepiness dissipated with it.

She wondered how he was doing,

Whether his cold had gotten better,

If he was eating on time.

Ye Jiuliang took her phone and turned on the screen, a long list of missed calls popped up.

Most of them were from Li Mochan.

Staring at that all too familiar number, Ye Jiuliang’s eyes flashed with indecision.

"Knock knock knock—"

"Ajiu, it’s me."

Through the door, Gu Xinuo’s voice came in.

Setting down the phone, Ye Jiuliang got up to open the door.

"Ajiu, Aqian has woken up," Gu Xinuo said, her eyebrows lifted in joy.

Ye Jiuliang smiled faintly, "Let’s go and see."

The door hadn’t been closed for long when the phone on the soft couch rang again.

Incoming call—Mo.

**

As the two arrived at Ji Mingqian’s room, he had already gotten out of bed.

The poison was resolved, and his complexion had improved.

"How do you feel, any discomfort?" Ye Jiuliang gave him a once-over and asked.

Ji Mingqian smiled and offered his hand to her, "Why don’t you have a look?"

Ye Jiuliang checked his pulse, then withdrew her hand, "Tell me how you got poisoned."