Su Yuan stared at the longsword just inches away, not even blinking. He took step after step towards Zhaozhao, allowing the sharp blade to hover mere millimeters from his neck.
"Zhaozhao, it's me. Su Yuan is here. Don't be afraid," he cooed, even though she looked cold and seemed ready to pierce him through the next second.
A flicker of struggle flashed across Zhaozhao's blood - red pupils. Her hand holding the sword trembled. Frowning, she looked at Su Yuan and slowly took a step back.
She called out uncertainly, "Su Yuan?"
"Yes, I'm Su Yuan." Su Yuan grasped her wrist. Zhaozhao let go, and her Soul - Severing sword clattered to the ground. She stood there blankly, all the previous killing intent gone.
The dragon scale on Zhaozhao's chest glowed with a soft light. Warm spiritual energy flowed continuously from the hand Su Yuan held. The red in her eyes gradually faded, and she regained her senses.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here. I'm right here," Su Yuan pulled her into his arms, his movements gentle. He gently patted her back to soothe her.
"Su Yuan..." Zhaozhao murmured his name. As if suddenly coming to her senses, she stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around Su Yuan's neck, buried her face in his neck, and sobbed softly, "It hurts so much, Su Yuan. It hurts so much. My bones are all broken..."
She cried heart - brokenly. Her sobs soon turned into wails. Like a helpless child, her body trembled slightly. Su Yuan's heart ached.
"It won't hurt anymore. I won't let Zhaozhao hurt again. I promise."
The next second, Zhaozhao's body suddenly stiffened without warning. Then she fainted in Su Yuan's arms, with glistening tears still hanging on her eyelashes.
Su Yuan lifted her into his arms horizontally. Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and his complexion turned extremely pale. On one hand, he felt heart - rending pain for the girl in his arms; on the other hand, he blamed himself for failing to protect her.
"Are you crazy? You've already given her half of your heart. Now only half is left in you. You forced yourself to use your magic power once on the way here, and now you even used your dragon's breath. Do you really wish you lived too long?"
Gu Qing rushed up and berated Su Yuan. At this moment, he didn't care about their superior - subordinate relationship. Su Yuan's blatant disregard for his own life infuriated him.
However, Su Yuan didn't respond to his scolding. He just hugged the girl in his arms tighter and was about to leave.
"Su Yuan!" Gu Qing gritted his teeth and blocked his way. Pointing at Zhaozhao in Su Yuan's arms, he shouted, "Are you even listening to me? Look at the corpse of the Zhuyan over there. It was your girl who did it! She managed to take out the Zhuyan and Yu Chu with the Reincarnation Bell all by herself. There are so many strange things about her. Are you really completely oblivious?"
Completely oblivious? Su Yuan twitched the corner of his mouth. Of course, he knew. But so what? She was just a naive girl always targeted by villains.
Coldness filled Su Yuan's eyebrows. He lifted his eyelids and stared at the furious Gu Qing. In a cold voice, he said, "Get out of the way."
"You—!"
"Gu Qing, don't make me say it a second time. I know her better than you. Pretend you didn't see anything tonight. Otherwise, I'll have to make you forget."
His words were rather harsh. Gu Qing was utterly shocked. He was dragged away by Nan Jia from behind.
"Why are you dragging me? Su Yuan is crazy. Don't you know—"
"Come on, stop it!" Nan Jia looked at Su Yuan's departing back and interrupted Gu Qing's rant, headache - stricken.
"What are you worried about? Zhaozhao was obviously bewitched tonight. Didn't you see her eyes, just like the boss's when his karmic sins flared up?" Nan Jia rolled her eyes speechlessly.
"But you saw it too. The boss risked his life for her. He only has half a heart left, and he still dared to use his life - saving dragon's breath."
"What you said is strange. It would be scarier if the boss just stood there hesitating, wouldn't it? If it were me, would you be so stingy with your life and just let me die?"
Hearing this assumption, Gu Qing blurted out without thinking, "How could that be? As long as I'm here, I'd rather die than let you get hurt."
"Then that's that," Nan Jia crossed her arms, a gentle smile on her lips. "Anyway, I think it's good. It's much better than when he was like an emotionless ice block before. I was afraid he'd get tired of this world one day and just drown himself in a river."
"The Earth - Listening Beast said they couldn't be separated. Stop worrying so much. As for the doubts about Zhaozhao you mentioned, let's just wait and see. I believe in her. She's not a bad person."
Gu Qing heaved a long sigh, wiped his face, and hung his head to clean up the mess.
Forget it. Since the boss was willing, what else could he say? Besides, what their Jia Jia said made sense. Just take one step at a time.
In the mountain - surrounded villa in Jinghai, Su Yuan was gently wiping Zhaozhao's face with a towel, his expression focused and tender.
The girl on the bed stirred. It seemed she was about to wake up, and Su Yuan immediately stopped his movement.
Zhaozhao opened her eyes and saw Su Yuan sitting by the bed. She hadn't fully woken up from her dream yet. Her lips quivered, and tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall.
It felt like someone was pricking Su Yuan's heart with a needle. It was aching, numb, and throbbing.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" He was a bit flustered and wanted to hug Zhaozhao, but then he realized he was holding something in his hand. For a moment, he didn't know what to do. He looked rather comical.
However, Zhaozhao didn't notice the oddity of the scene at all. She buried herself in Su Yuan's arms and hugged him tightly. Her voice was hoarse and full of grievance, "Don't leave me. Don't abandon me..."
Su Yuan hugged her back, gently patting her back. He stroked her hair all the way down to her waist, holding her tightly, not knowing how to dote on her enough.
"I won't leave. I'm here."
"Su Yuan, hug me. Hold me tight."
"Okay, okay~ I'm holding you. Holding you tight."
"Hold me tighter..."
"Okay, I'm holding you tight. Zhaozhao is in Su Yuan's arms. Don't be afraid."
Su Yuan was incredibly patient, speaking word by word as if he were coaxing a child.
The two hugged silently for a long time before Zhaozhao's emotions gradually calmed down.
She wiped her tears, feeling a bit ashamed. She always cried. Why was she so useless!
As her thoughts gradually cleared, Zhaozhao remembered what had happened before she fainted. She tugged at Su Yuan's clothes and asked, "Su Yuan, did I mess things up?"
Su Yuan rested his chin on her head. His voice was as gentle as the spring breeze in March, "No, Zhaozhao is so amazing. You solved everything all by yourself."
Zhaozhao wasn't happy about his praise. The flood of memories made her eyes redden again. Tears kept welling up.
She pulled back a bit from Su Yuan's arms, reached out to unbutton his clothes, and touched his warm skin. Feeling the beating heart under her palm, she asked Su Yuan, "What about you? Does it hurt so much here?"