Chapter 144: Chapter 97: When I Return, I’ll Remove the Mark from Your Face

"Yes. If you don’t leave, you will die."

With her meager Cultivation, she wouldn’t be able to withstand the Nine Thousand Thunders at all.

During his advancement, he would have to focus all his power on resisting it and would have no attention to spare for her. He couldn’t let her stay, nor could he take her with him. Yan Chen reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face, his usually frosty gaze now filled with urgency and restraint.

"Your advancement... it’s very dangerous, isn’t it?"

He didn’t speak, but his expression was a clear admission that she had hit the mark.

For reasons she couldn’t explain, Jiang Yunnuan suddenly felt the urge to cry. She threw herself into his arms, wrapping them tightly around him as she spoke in a muffled voice.

"Yan Chen, you have to get through this tribulation safely. Once you succeed, you have to come back and find me, okay? I’ll wait for you. And I’ll... I’ll miss you..."

"Okay."

Hearing her words, some of the urgency in Yan Chen’s eyes faded.

He responded in a low, hoarse voice, then turned her head and leaned down to press a light kiss to her lips.

It was as fleeting as a dragonfly skimming the water—a touch that was over in an instant, seemingly devoid of any emotion.

Jiang Yunnuan’s pupils trembled. Just as he pulled away, she suddenly hooked her arms around his neck, chasing after him and kissing him forcefully.

She kissed him with passion. Yan Chen froze, completely unable to resist, letting her take what she wanted.

The rampaging power inside him was wreaking havoc, severely distracting him from the experience. Yan Chen closed his eyes, suppressed the reluctance in his heart, and pushed her away.

"After I’m gone, remember to be careful. Don’t let that Fox Beastman hurt you. When I come back, I’ll help you remove the mark on your face."

Yan Chen murmured his instructions, stroked her cheek, and gave her one last, deep look. In the next instant, his tall, slender, and aloof figure vanished.

"Yan Chen..."

The space before her was suddenly empty. Jiang Yunnuan subconsciously called out his name, an unbearable ache in her heart.

The same feeling she’d had when Jun Yao left resurfaced.

’These past few days, I’d gotten used to his company and protection. But now he’s left so suddenly, and he has to face an incredibly dangerous heavenly tribulation all alone. One misstep, and I’ll never see him again.’

Just thinking about it made it hard for her to breathe.

"System, Yan Chen is my conquest target. If something happens to him, my mission will fail. Didn’t you say you uphold the will of the Heavenly Dao?"

"So, with Yan Chen facing his tribulation, can’t you help him out?"

[Host, it is true that I uphold the will of the Heavenly Dao, but I am not the Heavenly Dao itself. A Mutant Creature undergoing a tribulation is a law of the world. No one can interfere.]

[Yan Chen can only rely on himself.]

[It was not easy for him to get this far. Host, you should have faith in him.]

’I called the System for help, not for a lecture. If it can’t help, how dare it waste so much of my time with nonsense?’

Jiang Yunnuan blocked the System without a second thought.

She took a few deep breaths to compose herself, then her gaze fell upon the Silver Fox still unconscious on the floor.

’I suddenly remembered that Fu Yuan and Ming Ye are still out there looking for this guy.’

At that thought, she quickly opened her Light Brain and sent them a message.

"Come back. You don’t need to look for Si Xie anymore."

Several minutes passed after she sent the message, but there was no reply. ’They probably haven’t seen it yet,’ Jiang Yunnuan thought as she turned off her Light Brain.

While Si Xie was still unconscious, she reached out to check his pulse again and quickly determined the cause of his condition.

’There’s clotted blood and swelling in his brain, likely from a heavy blow. That’s not a big problem; I can treat it. The more troublesome part is that he was injected with many drugs with strong side effects at the Beast Fighting Arena.’

’Until the side effects are cleared, his personality will probably be extremely volatile and irritable.’

’On top of that, some of the drugs are addictive.’

’Sigh... he’s going to be miserable for a while!’

Just then, the Silver Fox on the floor twitched his eyelids and suddenly opened his eyes.

He looked around blankly, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. The woman beside him was the one who had treated his injuries in the Underground Dark Prison.

"Where is this?"

He looked at her, his voice low and hoarse.

Seeing him awake, Jiang Yunnuan immediately went on high alert, afraid he would suddenly go berserk like before.

"This is our home. I’m so sorry it took so long to find you. Si Xie, welcome home!"