“Ow! Owww…”

Inside the cave, a woman’s anguished cry rang out, sounding indescribably miserable.

Jian Yi was utterly stunned, staring at her finger, bitten by him until it bled — he couldn’t process it at all.

He had just… just done as she said and bitten down hard.

He’d thought that if he just bit down, he would no longer be afraid of holding the thing.

But he had forgotten that it was her hand holding the snake meat.

Now, in a moment of carelessness, he had ended up biting her hand as well.

“I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“Didn’t you want my hand? Well, now you’ve already injured it — your job’s done!”

Feng Jiu’er stared at her swollen finger, her eyes brimming with tears.

It really hurt — that scoundrel! He’d actually bitten down so hard her finger had broken open.

“I…” Jian Yi was thoroughly embarrassed, mortified enough to want to disappear.

But some things still needed to be clarified. “This… this doesn’t count.”

“This doesn’t count? You’ve nearly ruined my finger!” Feng Jiu’er, furious, instantly planted her hands on her hips, wishing she could kick him flying.

“Do you really have to cut off my hand? Have you ever considered — as a young woman, if I lost a hand, how ugly would that be?”

“Who would ever want a monster like that in the future? You’re not just cutting off my hand — you’re ruining my entire life!”

“Don’t worry — if you can’t marry, I can earn money to support you, for your whole life.”

He had already decided long ago — once he had repaid Feng Qingyin’s kindness, he would spend the rest of his life taking responsibility for her.

In truth, it all seemed much the same, but inexplicably, he felt he’d rather owe Feng Jiu’er than owe Feng Qingyin.

He would rather be a lowly errand boy in a place like Tianji Hall than continue following Feng Qingyin, doing things for her he didn’t even want to do.

“Pah! Who needs you to take responsibility? Can’t I support myself?”

As long as he didn’t cut off her hand, she could earn as much money as she wanted — her future was bright indeed!

Feng Jiu’er, fuming, flung the leftover snake meat at him, then sat down to one side to tend to the wound on her finger.

Jian Yi was still startled by the bit of snake meat thrown at him, but he adjusted quickly enough.

He picked up the meat, studied it carefully for a while, then, imitating the way Jiu’er had eaten it earlier, carefully began to gnaw on it.

In truth, he didn’t enjoy eating this thing at all, but Feng Jiu’er had said that eating it would mean conquering it!

His competitive spirit had been stirred, and so he resolved he must finish every last bite of the snake meat without leaving anything behind!

Once Feng Jiu’er had finished dressing the wound on her finger, she glared at him, still putting on a pitiful expression.

“Are you really going to cut off my hand? Don’t you think I’m pitiable? I’m a good person — these hands of mine could be used to heal the sick and help the world.”

This top master of Bei Mu, no matter how she looked at it, didn’t seem like a bad person.

Back when he had helped save people alongside everyone at Tianji Hall, Feng Jiu’er had seen clearly that he had a kind heart.

As for why he had become an assassin, perhaps it was something forced upon him too, beyond his control — so there was no point dwelling on it.

So then — could he stay kind all the way through, and spare her hand?

Jian Yi didn’t answer that question; instead, he looked rather puzzled. “Earlier, when I fainted, why didn’t you leave?”

Feng Jiu’er froze for a moment, suddenly recalling what had happened earlier.

At the time, she had tossed aside the snake in her hand and rushed straight for the exit. Being with such a terrifyingly dangerous man offered no sense of safety at all — her hand could be cut off by him at any moment!

But to her surprise, just as she stepped out of the cave, she heard the howling of wolves.

What was terrifying was that the howls seemed to come from not far away at all — if she kept heading further out, she would surely be carried off by wild wolves.

By then, she’d probably end up as a meal for a whole pack of them.

So, she really had wanted to leave — who would want to stay and keep him company — but she simply couldn’t go.

If she had left, would she not have survived?

She shot Jian Yi a look and muttered, “Who knows if there were other snakes in this cave — what if there had been a venomous one!”

“If I’d just left like that, what if one crawled out and bit you? If I was going to leave, I’d have to wait until you woke up first.”

She slumped a little, picking up a twig and drawing circles in the dirt with her head bowed. “Who could have guessed — once you woke up, I couldn’t leave anymore anyway.”

A wave of guilt flashed through Jian Yi’s eyes — he hadn’t expected that, for his sake, she would have given up even her chance to escape.

Feng Jiu’er could clearly sense his guilt and remorse. She said softly, “So, considering how good I’ve been to you, could you maybe…”

“From now on, I’ll treat you twice as well — once I’ve delivered your hand to that person.” Jian Yi said it earnestly, with great sincerity!

Feng Jiu’er wished she could slap him dead on the spot!

He clearly didn’t want to hurt her — so why was he being so hopelessly stubborn about it?

“Just who exactly did you promise — that they could have my hand?”

Jian Yi couldn’t answer that question. In truth, the other party wanted her life — taking her hand instead had been his own idea.

He didn’t want to kill Feng Jiu’er, so he had decided to take one of her hands in place of her life.

“You can’t say? Is it a woman? A woman you’re fond of?” Feng Jiu’er tilted her head, looking at him with curiosity.

“No!” Absolutely not a woman he was fond of!

Had Feng Jiu’er asked him this a month earlier, perhaps even he himself wouldn’t have known the answer.

But during this time away, he felt as though he had finally seen his own heart with complete clarity.

He didn’t love Feng Qingyin — staying by her side had only ever been about repaying a debt of gratitude.

He was a man who always repaid kindness!

Feng Qingyin had once saved his life, and that debt had to be repaid no matter what.

But unlike before, he now genuinely had no desire whatsoever to remain at Feng Qingyin’s side.

That was why he was so anxious to obtain Feng Jiu’er’s hand — once he delivered it to Feng Qingyin, he and Feng Qingyin would no longer have any connection whatsoever.

Whoever Feng Qingyin sought out, whatever she did afterward, would no longer have anything to do with him.

“Jiu’er, I know you and I have no quarrel, no grudge between us. I really have wronged you. But rest assured — I said I would take responsibility for you in the future, and what I’ve said, I will do.”

“What’s all this about taking responsibility or not? Do you like me? Do you want to marry me?” Feng Jiu’er nearly rolled her eyes at him.

Who needed him to take responsibility? As long as he didn’t cut off her hand, that would be the best kind of responsibility, as far as she was concerned.

Jian Yi froze for a moment, then looked at her face, suddenly appearing rather conflicted.

He had thought about taking responsibility for her for life, but only in the sense of treating her well in the future and supporting her for the rest of her days.

But as for liking her, or marrying her — he had never once considered such things.

He looked at her a good while longer before finally gritting his teeth, as though making up his mind.

“Fine. If, in the future, you wish to marry me, then… then I’ll marry you!”