Though An Jiu tried to act tough this time, she was a bit self-conscious.
Chu Dijiang didn’t expose her, just smiled and pulled her into an embrace.
The soft light of an oil lamp filled the room with a warm glow, creating an intimate atmosphere…
The next day.
Chu Dijiang rose before dawn.
An Jiu lay in bed, one smooth arm draped over the edge. Hearing movement, she opened her eyes slightly.
In the dim light, Chu Dijiang bent down to tuck her arm back under the covers.
Having just woken, his voice was slightly husky, his eyes carrying a faint smile. “Awake?”
Chu Dijiang had always been gentle with An Jiu, but this was the first time she truly felt his tenderness.
It was intoxicating.
“I’m leaving,” Chu Dijiang said.
An Jiu quickly grabbed his fingers.
Chu Dijiang paused, looking questioning, then clasped her hand in return.
They held hands silently for a moment before letting go in unison. Chu Dijiang bent to kiss her cheek lightly, then turned to leave.
The door opened and closed, letting in a gust of cold air that drove away An Jiu’s remaining drowsiness.
She sat up, wrapped in blankets, suddenly feeling the room unbearably empty and quiet.
With Chu Dijiang’s level of cultivation, he normally had a less noticeable presence than ordinary people unless he deliberately exuded killing intent. When he sat in the room reading or playing chess alone, they didn’t interact much.
An Jiu had previously thought his presence or absence made little difference, but she hadn’t expected the contrast to be so stark.
It had taken her twenty years to grow accustomed to solitude, yet Chu Dijiang had destroyed that habit in just ten days.
An Jiu lay motionless on the bed, but her mind was in turmoil. Anticipation and fear mingled, and in this intense struggle, she seemed to see a faint glimmer of light.
Hope.
An Jiu felt she understood her mother a little bit now – why she could repeatedly forgive her father despite his cruel actions. However, the more she understood, the more afraid she became. She feared falling into a web woven by a man as her mother had, fearing becoming a mere sacrifice like her mother.
As dawn broke, strange singing echoed from somewhere on the island.
Sui Yunzhu felt her scalp tingle – the voice was all too familiar. It was Mei Fourteen!
“Come quickly, let’s go see,” Sui Yunzhu knocked on Li Qingzhi’s door. “Something bad might happen!”
“You mean Mei Fourteen?” Li Qingzhi yawned, unconcerned. “What trouble could she cause on the island?”
At the border, An Jiu had lost control once. Li Qingzhi had been recovering from injuries then and hadn’t personally experienced that horrific “disaster,” but Sui Yunzhu remembered it vividly.
“I’m not worried about her getting into trouble. I’m afraid she’ll tear down the island!” Sui Yunzhu said as she hurried off.
An Jiu’s voice came from the woods near Lou Xiaowu’s residence. If she were simply chopping trees, that would be one thing, but if she got her hands on some of Lou Xiaowu’s strange inventions, she might sink the island in a moment of carelessness.
Seeing Sui Yunzhu’s genuine concern, Li Qingzhi didn’t bother putting on his coat and hurried after her.
When Sui Yunzhu reached the woods, An Jiu was still wailing, but before she could locate her, the sound abruptly stopped.
She thought, “This is bad. She’s deliberately hiding from us!” Unlike Chu Dijiang, they could not find her using spiritual power.
“Couldn’t find her?” Li Qingzhi caught up.
Sui Yunzhu nodded. “She’s nearby, hiding from us.”
Knowing An Jiu likely had some mental issues, Li Qingzhi suggested, “Shall I call others to help search?”
“Good idea,” Sui Yunzhu added. “Have two people keep an eye on Miss Lou first…”
“Waaah!” Lou Xiaowu suddenly started howling.
“I’ll go check,” Li Qingzhi said, using his lightness skill to rush over.
Hearing Lou Xiaowu’s alarming cries, Zhu Pianpian didn’t even bother applying powder before running over.
“Xiaowu!” Zhu Pianpian had barely stepped through the door when Lou Xiaowu crashed into her arms. “What happened?”
Lou Xiaowu stepped back, ecstatically waving a gun. “This gun’s been modified! There’s much less friction, and the bullet’s propulsion speed has increased, but the gun didn’t explode. It must be Fourteen’s work. She’s a genius, haha!”
With that, she dashed out the door, running towards An Jiu’s Qingfeng Ningle residence.
Without Chu Dijiang as the stabilizing force, the island descended into chaos.
Meanwhile, the lake surface outside the island was almost perfectly still.
A slender man boarded a small boat with two enormous tigers.
The boat was so small that the two tigers nearly sank it, yet it glided across the lake with surprising ease.
The man stood at the bow, hands clasped behind his back, gazing at a misty area on the lake. “Tsk, tsk. The Dream Flowers are growing beautifully. As expected of something I planted with my own hands.”
The man and two tigers soon reached the dock.
Mo Sigui adjusted his clothes, carefully examined his reflection in the water, and nodded in approval. He pulled out a folding fan and strolled towards his long-absent residence, happily imagining the surprised expressions An Jiu and the others would have upon seeing him.
Upon reaching his home, he was stunned to find not a soul in the courtyard.
Mo Sigui walked around, muttering, “At least the firewood’s been chopped recently.”