Yan Sanhe stepped across the threshold. Turning her face, she saw three people standing by the window.

The expressions on the three faces varied, but none looked good.

Clearly, they had heard her conversation with the three Zhu brothers.

Yan Sanhe walked to Xie Zhifei’s side. “How’s your foot injury? Can you accompany me for a walk in the garden?”

Xie Zhifei had snatched time to wash his face and shave. His jet-black eyes held moisture, somewhat damp.

He said nothing, but suddenly grabbed Yan Sanhe’s hand, gripping it tightly in his palm, then limped along pulling her outside.

This…

The two behind them watched, dumbstruck.

Li Buyan said, “Third Master’s courage is really substantial!”

Young Master Pei replied, “Being substantial is good—substantial enough to bring a wife home.”

Li Buyan snorted coldly. “Is now the time to think about wives?”

Young Master Pei said, “Let the man find some joy amid suffering, Hero Li.”

“To pursue a wife, one must risk their life!”

Li Buyan turned her head to look at him, speaking in a sarcastic tone. “Young Master Pei, will this good brother of yours accompany him?”

Just mentioning joy amid suffering, and now you’re stabbing a knife into my heart?

Can’t you let me catch my breath?

Young Master Pei glared at Li Buyan, thinking, I strongly condemn you in my heart!

“Let’s make a bet.”

Li Buyan pulled out a copper coin from her pocket.

“Bet on whether Third Master will choose his life or his wife. I bet he’ll choose life!”

Young Master Pei was speechless.

Is this troublemaker trying to drive Xie Fifty mad?

Li Buyan pulled out another copper coin.

“Bet again on whether Young Master Pei will choose his life or accompany his brother to his death. I bet he’ll also choose life!”

Young Master Pei was speechless again.

Wrong—she wants to drive me mad too!

…

How could a man’s palm be so hot, like a furnace?

How strange.

Yan Sanhe looked down at their hands, thinking—was his courage too great, or was she too indulgent?

It seemed…

They shouldn’t have reached this step yet.

However…

Being held in his palm felt quite nice—it was just that her heart was beating a bit fast.

Xie Zhifei walked to the covered walkway, released her hand, lowered his head, furrowed his brow, and looked at her without saying a word.

This expression, this gaze made Yan Sanhe’s throat tighten.

He was conflicted.

He had the Xie family behind him.

He and the Grand Prince were good brothers.

“Xie Zhifei.”

Yan Sanhe raised her chin slightly to look at him. “Don’t get involved in the rest of this heart demon investigation, you and Mingting.”

By not asking them to accompany her and going alone to see Zhu Yuanmo, that was already her meaning.

She was the demon resolver.

She couldn’t drag them all down to lose their lives.

“Yan Sanhe.”

He didn’t hesitate much before saying, “When I came to Yunnan Prefecture to find you and begged you to take on this heart demon, I had selfish motives. My selfish motive was to have the Zhu family serve Huairen’s purposes.”

Resolving the heart demon was an opportunity.

His wishful calculation had been excellent.

“But now I regret it. Just now, actually.”

Xie Zhifei’s gaze slowly pressed down. “I will help you, on the condition that you listen to me and don’t act rashly.”

Yan Sanhe looked astonished.

“Xie Zhifei, don’t forget you have the Xie family behind you. And don’t forget how dangerous this matter is. You…”

“You only need to answer whether you’ll listen to me or not.”

“Xie Zhifei, this isn’t a question of listening or not. This is a question of whether we can survive.”

“If you listen to me, we might be able to survive.”

Xie Zhifei’s tone hardened by three degrees. “If you don’t listen to me, you definitely won’t survive.”

“Why?”

Yan Sanhe didn’t understand. “Why must you get involved?”

Because you are Zheng Huaiyou.

Because you’re more important than the Xie family, more important than Zhao Huairen, even more important than my own life.

Because the sin I committed, I must repay.

And also because…

You are the person my grandfather and father would protect even at the cost of the entire Zheng family.

Xie Zhifei looked at Yan Sanhe, frank and sincere. “Because if anything happens to you, I won’t be able to live either.”

Sweet words came so suddenly and unexpectedly.

No, these weren’t sweet words—these were words of love, the kind that could make one’s heart race and face flush.

“Yan Sanhe, there’s been no formal understanding between us. It’s not because I don’t want one, but because the Zhu family’s heart demon hasn’t given us any breathing room.”

Xie Zhifei decided to be completely frank.

“That time when you all set out for Mount Wutai, I bought you a bag of candy. When I was buying the candy, I despised myself.

A bag of candy is worth a few coins? I wanted to buy you the best, the most valuable things—whether food, clothing, or jewelry.

Whatever other girls have, you should have too, and yours definitely can’t be inferior to others.”

“Xie Zhifei, you…”

“That’s exactly what I think.”

Xie Zhifei said, “What I can give you, what I can’t give you—I want to give you everything.”

Yan Sanhe shook her head. “I never wanted those things.”

“I know. You look down on them.”

Xie Zhifei paused here and smiled. “So I can only give you myself.”

If you’re fine, I’m fine.

If you’re in trouble, I’m definitely in trouble.

“As for the Xie family…”

He paused again.

“That’s not something you should consider. What you should consider is how to make good use of me, how to resolve those thousands of crows’ heart demon, and how to let everyone survive.”

“Xie Zhifei.”

Yan Sanhe looked at him. “Is it worth liking me this much? We’ve only known each other for so many days, yet you’re staking your life on it.”

“It’s worth it.”

Yan Sanhe’s first reaction—has this man gone mad? Isn’t he supposed to be the best at scheming and calculating?

Yet he spoke with such seriousness, completely different from his previous devil-may-care manner.

This version of Xie Zhifei made it impossible for Yan Sanhe to ignore him.

She suddenly realized she was actually no different from ordinary women—she too had greedy thoughts, had longings.

And her greedy thought was him, her longing was also him—his sincere heart.

Yan Sanhe wasn’t sentimental.

She had tried being sentimental with Li Buyan and been scolded, so the only way to reciprocate sincerity was to throw herself fully into this heart demon.

She didn’t believe that before the Zheng family’s case was fully investigated, heaven would let her die.

Yan Sanhe extended her hand toward Xie Zhifei. “Come!”

Xie Zhifei was startled. “What for?”

“I’ll hold your hand as we go back.”

Yan Sanhe said, “Protecting those who help me is the first step in investigating this heart demon to the end.”

So she agreed.

Xie Zhifei grasped her hand at once, his lips curving into a smile. “Yan Sanhe, doesn’t this have a bit of that ‘holding your hand, growing old together with you’ feeling?”

“Xie Chengyu, you’re overthinking.”

Before the second half of the sentence could leave her mouth, she laughed first with satisfaction. “I’m showing care for the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled.”

Xie Zhifei frowned, expressing dissatisfaction. “Can you remove one of those words?”

Yan Sanhe asked, “Which one?”

Xie Zhifei replied, “Care!”

Yan Sanhe looked at him. After a long moment, she said, “Getting a bit greedy now.”

He shrugged innocently, his tone aggrieved. “I’ve already staked my life on this—can’t I be a bit greedy?”

Yan Sanhe was speechless.

This man couldn’t stay serious for more than a few minutes.