“Miss, at such a young age, you don’t understand reason. Liu Yan is a great villain, a lecher who specializes in bewitching women. By taking him back to Shaolin, we’re helping you escape from your sea of suffering.” Wailing Monk said. “When you grow older in the future, you’ll naturally understand our good intentions.”

Yu Tuan’er turned a deaf ear and said quietly, “I told you… to give them back to me… didn’t you hear?”

A’Shui saw her body swaying, no longer able to support herself. She knew the Shaolin monks would take Liu Yan away in just a moment. Though myriad thoughts raced through her mind, she couldn’t think of a good way to make the Shaolin monks give up on Liu Yan. At this moment, seeing Yu Tuan’er wouldn’t yield the path, Heaven Monk pondered briefly, then let his great sleeve float lightly, pointing toward Yu Tuan’er’s chest. Yu Tuan’er thrust her long sword toward Heaven Monk’s sleeve, but her hand trembled and her strength was weak. With a “clang” the long sword was shaken and drooped down, its tip touching the ground, yet she still gripped the sword hilt tightly, unwilling to let go.

Heaven Monk’s sleeve brushed toward Yu Tuan’er’s chest. Suddenly a figure flashed before him. Yu Tuan’er had no strength left to dodge, but a purple-clothed woman appeared before her eyes. “Master, stop!” He hurriedly withdrew his brushing sleeve. “This female benefactor, this matter has nothing to do with you, please don’t—”

Suddenly, with just a soft “whoosh” sound, before Heaven Monk could finish speaking, a black short arrow suddenly appeared in his chest. His facial expression didn’t change as he fell forward with a “thud.”

The Shaolin Seventeen Monks cried out in alarm and changed color. Asura Monk and Wailing Monk both bent down to examine Heaven Monk’s injuries. Feeling his pulse, they found the arrow had pierced his heart and he was dead. The two immediately chanted Buddha’s name, stood up, and shook their heads at everyone. The sixteen monks chanted Buddha in unison, all turning to look at the dawn light outside the window. Among the houses and streets in the transition between evening and morning, who exactly had killed someone?

Yu Tuan’er turned her head. Liu Yan had slowly opened his eyes. The two pairs of eyes met. With a “clang” Yu Tuan’er’s long sword fell to the ground, and she knelt on both knees. She could no longer stand, but slowly crawled toward Liu Yan. Though the Shaolin sixteen monks saw this, they didn’t stop her. With a great enemy outside, no one dared to be distracted.

Yu Tuan’er used her hands and feet, slowly crawling to Liu Yan’s knees, raised her right hand, and firmly grasped his sleeve. Liu Yan raised his right hand and struggled once. Yu Tuan’er spat out a mouthful of fresh blood on his clothes with a “wa” sound, her consciousness already dizzy. “Hey… I… I don’t want to be separated from you…” she said in a low voice. “I… I don’t want to be separated from you… separ—”

Liu Yan’s right hand slowly lowered. She vaguely felt him gently pat her head, then sank into darkness.

“Wu…” Fengfeng looked at Yu Tuan’er unconscious with her head pillowed on Liu Yan’s knee, pointed his little finger at her, then forcefully grabbed and pulled A’Shui’s hair. A’Shui gently held Fengfeng’s back tighter. She stepped back once, then stepped back again. Liu Yan’s hand fell on Yu Tuan’er’s hair, but his gaze looked toward her. A’Shui had already retreated to the corner of the hall. Liu Yan glanced at her, and she stepped back once more, her back against the wall.

“Do you hate me?”

Just as the house fell into complete silence with everyone on high alert against the enemy, Liu Yan looked at A’Shui, his hand stroking Yu Tuan’er’s blood-stained disheveled hair, slowly asking in a low voice. A’Shui smiled faintly, shook her head, and remained silent. Liu Yan looked at her, gently stroking Yu Tuan’er’s black hair. His gaze seemed very desolate. “Why do you neither fear me… nor hate me?”

A’Shui listened, and after a while, closed her eyes and still shook her head. After quite a while she slowly opened them again.

She saw Liu Yan’s five fingers stroking Yu Tuan’er’s black hair clench forcefully, so forcefully as if he wanted to crush her black hair. There was extremely rich sorrow in his eyes. After asking this question, he said nothing more.

She suddenly… felt this man was truly very pitiful.

He had always been someone else’s chess piece – in the past and would be in the future… He had no ability to escape this fate of being a chess piece. No matter how he struggled, his thoughts and every action were within others’ calculations… She looked at the sorrow in his eyes, looked at his hand stroking Yu Tuan’er, and in this moment she understood that this man actually cared about himself very much.

He hadn’t treated himself well because he didn’t dare.

He didn’t dare because he was afraid – afraid that people would discover he actually wasn’t an evil person.

He wanted to be a great villain because he hated Tang Lici; he couldn’t not be a great villain because he needed to survive in the martial world.

But his efforts only made him someone else’s chess piece. His goodness was completely extinguished, yet his evil couldn’t even earn a woman’s fear and hatred. And he… only dared to ask about fear and hate. Everything else… he didn’t even dare to ask.

Of course she didn’t fear him, didn’t hate him, and didn’t love him either, but he looked… very heartbreaking.

You… lost to Young Master Tang long ago. You’re just desperately trying to learn his wickedness and evil thoughts, but no matter how you learn, you’ll never become Young Master Tang, because your evil… can only hurt people’s flesh and skin, but can’t hurt into their bones.

Just then, the sixteen monks in the house moved, each occupying key positions at two windows and the room door. The hidden archer outside had killed one monk with one arrow and was now motionless, obviously seeking an opportunity to kill again with another arrow. How could the Shaolin Sixteen Monks be ordinary characters? They immediately took positions, and Human Monk called out sternly, “What master is outside the door?”

With a “whoosh” sound, as soon as Human Monk opened his mouth, a short arrow broke through the door, piercing through the door panel and shooting toward his chest. Two Shaolin monks struck back with raised hands toward where the short arrow came from, several finger winds attacking the arrow’s source. The door panel couldn’t withstand the arrow wind and finger force, instantly crumbling with a roar. As debris exploded, with a “swish” sound a long sword suddenly appeared. With an “ah” sound of muffled grunt, Wailing Monk was struck by the sword under his ribs, his face deathly pale.