It was almost dawn when Qin Lan and Wu Yin returned from the mountain, covered in dew.
When Qin Lan entered the small house, he found Li Shuang crouching below the bed, one hand bound by the chain resting on the bed, the other hugging her knee. She slept with her head on her arm, looking exhausted and pitiful.
As she wasn’t awake, Qin Lan dared to observe her closely. Her clothes had been put back on, her belt was knotted together after being torn, and her collar was damaged. Her hair was disheveled, and on her neck and collarbone were red marks different from her previous injuries…
Qin Lan knew what those marks were, but he had never imagined that one day he would see such marks on Li Shuang’s neck… Combined with the damaged clothes and Li Shuang’s current state of sleeping crouched by the bed, it wasn’t hard to guess what this man lying there had done to her in his absence.
Qin Lan’s throat tightened, his jaw clenched for a moment before he couldn’t help but call out softly: “General.”
Exhausted from today’s ordeal, Li Shuang slept more deeply than usual, only raising her head at this gentle call.
Her eyes held the haziness of first waking, but upon seeing Qin Lan clearly, that fog dispersed with a blink: “Ah, Qin Lan.”
She responded hoarsely, supporting herself on her knee to stand, but having crouched for so long, she stumbled. Qin Lan barely caught her.
They had been companions for many years, fighting almost every battle together, and such mutual support was commonplace. Li Shuang pinched her brow to clear her mind, had just begun to thank him when unexpectedly, Qin Lan pulled her aside and drew his sword, slashing toward Jin An’s neck! He seemed intent on beheading him with one stroke!
In an instant, any remaining drowsiness vanished from Li Shuang. She raised her hand to block Qin Lan’s elbow, barely stopping his attack.
“Qin Lan?” Li Shuang asked in disbelief. “What are you doing?”
Wu Yin, who had been organizing herbs outside, heard the commotion and entered. Seeing this scene, he hurried forward to restrain Qin Lan, pulling him back: “General Qin, what’s wrong with you? Suddenly possessed?”
He wasn’t possessed—he was burning with rage, furious at this man’s disrespectful and shameless treatment of Li Shuang, and even more angry at himself…
He had spent the night gathering herbs with Wu Yin, who claimed they were for treating Li Shuang and Jin An’s wounds.
But Qin Lan knew his calculations. Qin Lan could see this person had been trying to match Li Shuang with that mysterious man. He should have returned quickly to guard Li Shuang, just as he always had…
But while picking herbs, Wu Yin had casually said something that stopped him: “Let’s look for more herbs. If we return too early and they’re in the middle of something, it would be awkward.”
Li Shuang could never be such an improper person—in the past, Qin Lan would have found this suggestion laughably dismissible. But now, these words had trapped his footsteps.
What if?
After all, Li Shuang had already done the unthinkable by returning from the Northern Border just to seek this one man, and then borrowing troops from the Emperor, paying who knows what price to save this one person… She had already done many things he considered utterly outrageous.
And now the night was so deep, able to cover so many secrets… Compared to her previous actions, Wu Yin’s words didn’t seem so outrageous anymore.
So Qin Lan had walked through the forest all night with him, not daring to return to Wu Ling Gate until dawn approached. But he hadn’t expected to find Li Shuang in such a state.
If she were willing, Qin Lan would have accepted it without a word, suppressing any emotions. But now, seeing her disheveled state and signs of last night’s struggle, he could no longer contain his rage.
“This man is extremely dangerous to the General. I cannot let him live.”
He moved to break free from Wu Yin, but Wu Yin wasn’t so easy to deal with. His sleeve fan slid down, and with three or five deft movements, he cleverly pushed Qin Lan to the other side of the room, positioning himself between Li Shuang and Jin An, and Qin Lan.
Wu Yin glanced back, his sharp mind quickly grasping the thoughts between these people. Without needing to speak it aloud, he just smiled and fanned himself twice: “This man is Wu Ling Gate’s treasure. Not only would your General forbid you from killing him, but I absolutely wouldn’t let you harm him either. If you’re angry, just endure it—this isn’t something you can accomplish anyway.”
“This man has repeatedly disrespected the General! Today, even at the cost of my life, I won’t let him leave this door alive.” His face was dark, his eyes cold as he stared at Jin An like facing the most vicious enemy on a battlefield, killing intent surging.
Li Shuang knew Qin Lan was truly angry, but this situation was awkward no matter how you looked at it. She could only pull her collar to cover her neck: “He’s just… temporarily like this.” Li Shuang sighed. “Whether hurting me or last night’s accident, none of it was his true intention.”
“Regardless, he is a hidden danger,” Qin Lan said severely. “General, forgive my offense, but today he must not be allowed to live.”
Li Shuang fell silent. Having worked with Qin Lan for many years, she knew that today, even if she issued a military order, he probably… wouldn’t listen to her.
“Ah.”
In this moment of deadlock, Wu Yin suddenly exclaimed, “It’s dawn.”
Li Shuang’s gaze shifted to see the morning glow flooding the sky outside the window, the sun slowly leaping over distant mountains, its light spilling across the land.
She almost instinctively looked back, only to find that Jin An lying on the bed hadn’t transformed into a child. His chest still bore only the red flame mark like last night. Unexpectedly, Jin An was… awake.
He stared straight at Li Shuang, his gaze clear and penetrating, just like how he would look at her every night in the borderlands. Only now, instead of moonlight, his eyes reflected the morning glow.
This was the first time Li Shuang had seen the adult Jin An in daylight.
She was somewhat dazed, having thought that her proximity was delaying his transformation, but… now apart from the chain, no part of her body was touching Jin An.
While she was surprised, Wu Yin also remarked: “Oh, he finally resembles what the elders described of a Gu host.”
With the mark on his chest but otherwise no different from ordinary people, it seemed that after yesterday’s ordeal, he had finally… become a complete Gu host.
But at this moment, Jin An hadn’t noticed the changes in his body. He only looked at Li Shuang, asking hoarsely: “I hurt you again, didn’t I?”
His voice carried inherent pain, and Li Shuang’s heart ached for him so easily. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, killing intent surged. Li Shuang turned her head to see Qin Lan charging forward with lethal intent, his gaze sharp as a blade, truly determined as he had said to take Jin An’s life today…