In the water, Guxi had already been badly wounded because of Baili Xiaosheng’s misunderstanding. Now, having to shield her while also fending off Qin Chu’s fierce onslaught, he was clearly struggling to keep up.
After several exchanges, Guxi found himself only dodging, never striking back!
But in a contest between skilled fighters, this was the most fatal of positions—purely defending meant giving the opponent endless opportunities, while one’s own strength drained away continuously.
Held in Guxi’s arms as he dodged again and again, Baili Xiaosheng could clearly smell the scent of blood growing steadily stronger on him.
Heavens—just how severe had that blow at the bottom of the lake been?
Baili Xiaosheng, furious with herself, suddenly wrenched free of Guxi’s hold, shoving him roughly aside, and turned to face Qin Chu head-on herself.
“Who exactly are you, and what’s your scheme against me? If you’re a real man, speak plainly—what’s with all this sneaking around?” Baili Xiaosheng demanded angrily.
“Heh heh, Baili Xiaosheng, you flatter yourself. I’m not after you—I’m after Duku!” Qin Chu sneered. With the undying blood in his hands, why would he be foolish enough to hand it over to Baili Xiaosheng out of the goodness of his heart?
Once he controlled Duku, he could use that vial of undying blood to create countless poisons never before seen in this world. On that day, he would become the greatest poison master this world had ever known.
“After Duku! Heh, so that’s how it is!” Baili Xiaosheng was no fool—the moment he said it, she understood everything at once.
“Then hand over your life!”
As Qin Chu spoke, he drew out a soft, flexible sword from somewhere, his body moving with the blade like a slithering serpent as he lunged at Baili Xiaosheng.
“Be careful—that swordsmanship is extremely treacherous!”
Guxi’s expression shot to alarm. He’d encountered that soft sword technique before—it was an unorthodox, heterodox style, its patterns bizarre and nearly impossible to find an opening against.
Seeing Guxi about to move to help, Baili Xiaosheng didn’t even spare Qin Chu a glance, showing no guard whatsoever, and instead ran straight toward Guxi’s side.
Qin Chu’s blade immediately shifted direction. “Heh heh, Baili Xiaosheng, I’ll kill this man first, then take my time playing with you.”
His arrogance dripped from every word, his smile utterly lewd—especially the way he lingered on that word “playing,” heavy with suggestion.
Guxi’s fists clenched tight. Never in his life had he felt such fury—he wanted nothing more than to blind Qin Chu, to make sure he never laid eyes on Baili Xiaosheng again.
Just as Qin Chu closed in, Guxi abruptly shoved Baili Xiaosheng aside and unleashed a barrage of hidden darts—darts that didn’t travel in straight lines, but curved through the air in bizarre, twisting arcs.
Qin Chu had no way to dodge in time and took three or four darts at once. Unfortunately, Guxi’s internal injuries were too severe, sapping the force behind his strikes—though he wounded Qin Chu, it wasn’t enough to be fatal.
Seeing that the darts’ force was limited, Qin Chu instead charged straight into them, letting them strike his body without resistance, and closed the distance to Guxi in an instant. His sword came to rest against Guxi’s throat, and without a word he moved to cut him down.
But in that split second, Baili Xiaosheng suddenly appeared behind Qin Chu, her voice ringing out with fury. “You dare lay a hand on my man? You’re asking to die!”
The moment the words left her mouth, the dagger in her hand plunged straight through Qin Chu’s heart from behind.
Poison won’t kill you? Then I’ll just kill you myself!
In an instant, every movement froze. Qin Chu’s blade hung less than an inch from Guxi’s throat—the narrowest of margins, the barest sliver away from a consequence Baili Xiaosheng could never have borne.
Her hand, still gripping the dagger buried in Qin Chu’s heart, had struck with such ruthless resolve moments before—but now it trembled uncontrollably, unable to stop no matter what.
She was afraid.
That close—just that close—and the man who had protected her for the first time in her life, the man who’d guarded her for nearly a year, would have left her forever. She would never have seen him again.
Love, she realized in that moment, was a kind of need—and only now did Baili Xiaosheng truly feel just how much she needed this man.
Guxi, bracing through his injuries, forced himself up and had already made his way to her side—yet she still stood there frozen, dazed, trembling, nearly in tears.
Perhaps, in this moment, Baili Xiaosheng was the most truly herself she had ever been.
Not the girl forced to act mature and sensible before her master; not the fierce, domineering girl she showed to Guxi. All along, underneath it all, she was simply a small woman who could feel fear, who needed to be cherished, who needed protecting.
Seeing her like this made Guxi’s heart ache. His large hand gently closed over her small one, still clutching the dagger, slowly enveloping it, stilling her trembling.
Only then did Baili Xiaosheng come back to herself. She turned her head slowly to look at him. “You… you… are you all right?”
Guxi smiled. In his eyes was a single color, one Baili Xiaosheng had never seen there before—doting, protective tenderness.
She had never seen it in her master’s eyes, nor had she ever seen it in Guxi’s eyes before—this sheltering, cherishing warmth.
Looking at Guxi’s faint smile, for a moment she felt as though flowers were blooming across the entire sky, scattering like a sea in bloom, as if the whole world had become a dream she never wanted to wake from.
Gently, Guxi guided her hand, easing the dagger from her grip, and pulled her into his embrace. Beside them, Qin Chu’s body crumpled to the ground, never to rise again.
Moments ago Baili Xiaosheng had so domineeringly threatened him—but now, all of that fierce bravado had vanished entirely, her heart fluttering wildly, at a complete loss for what to do.
Guxi, truthfully, had little strength left himself. Holding her, he sat down on a nearby rock.
The moment he sat, she found herself hunched awkwardly, uncomfortable. He released her to let her stand, then said casually, “Why don’t you just lie down.”
Baili Xiaosheng looked back and saw him patting the spot on his lap.
Her heart gave a start. Guxi reached out, smiling, urging her to lie down. “Go on, lie down. I’m hurt fairly badly—I probably won’t be able to walk for a while.”
Timidly, Baili Xiaosheng let herself sink down, her head resting on his thigh. Only once she’d settled did she realize… resting her head on his leg felt so comfortable.
Baili Xiaosheng must have been in some kind of daze in that moment—if asked to recall it afterward, she probably wouldn’t remember any of it clearly.
“Silly girl. I think you’re pretty impressive,” Guxi said with a smile, reaching out to gently pinch the tip of her nose, so naturally, as if the two of them had already been companions for years.
Baili Xiaosheng’s heart skipped a beat. Had he really… was he… could it be that he…
A jumble of thoughts scattered wildly through her mind. Moments ago she’d questioned him so forcefully—now, she didn’t dare ask anything at all.
Baili Xiaosheng—truth be told, you’re the type with plenty of nerve for scheming but none at all for confronting it head-on, aren’t you?
And Guxi—now he was the real schemer here.
“Impressive?” Baili Xiaosheng, thoroughly confused, tilted her head up to look at him and found that, in this moment, he looked especially refined and handsome, his features outlined beautifully against the dim moonlight.
“Mm. With you and me joined together, I’d guess… there’s hardly anyone in this world who could stand against us,” Guxi said seriously.
Baili Xiaosheng grew even more confused, unsure why he’d suddenly say such a thing. “What… what do you mean by that?”
“Since the two of us together are more than enough to handle any danger, then there’s no longer any need for Shiliang to exist. Go ahead and get rid of her,” Guxi said flatly.