Chapter 465: The Strongest Bodyguard

The morning sun was rising, its golden rays blanketing the earth.

Yuan Liang escorted Jiang Qingli and the others to the parking lot, repeating the safety precautions over and over like a doting old father. He glanced back at the sky and sighed with feeling, "What wonderful weather..."

After his sigh, he checked his watch. "It’s getting late. Say a few words to your friends. It’s about time to leave."

Jiang Qingli exchanged a few words with the friends she had made here, then waved goodbye to them.

As she moved, a flash of green was visible on her wrist.

Yuan Liang asked about it, so Jiang Qingli pulled up her sleeve slightly to show him. "It’s a gift from Fang Chi."

Fang Chi was on a mission today and couldn’t see her off. He had given Jiang Qingli a small green sprout, telling her she could plant it when she got back and that it would bloom.

Yuan Liang glanced at Jin Li’s expression, stroked his beard, and changed the subject.

The car door closed, and the rest of the group started back.

Yuan Liang stopped Jin Li. "Jin Li, are you sure about this? After all the hard work it took to climb up the ranks, you’re really willing to become an ordinary person? And I heard you sold the house your father left you?"

"I did something wrong. I’m no longer worthy of staying in the military." Jin Li gave Yuan Liang a deep bow. "From now on, I must ask you, Marshal, to look after my younger brother."

Yuan Liang didn’t press him further. "Alright. We’ve reached a preliminary state of peace with the Roaring Forest. I hope there will be no more wars in the future."

Jin Li looked in the direction the escort vehicle had gone, a hint of worry in his eyes.

He had wanted to go with them, to offer what little help he could one last time, but Yuan Liang had rejected his request.

"Don’t worry." Yuan Liang clapped him on the shoulder. "A bodyguard has already volunteered to escort them the entire way. The security level is very high."

Jin Li was puzzled. "A bodyguard?"

"That’s right." Yuan Liang smiled meaningfully. "And it’s the strongest one in our military."

...

The escort vehicles had all been modified. They looked ordinary on the outside, but their defensive capabilities were extremely high.

Baili Jing sat next to Jiang Qingli, vigilantly watching their surroundings.

They reached the station without any trouble and boarded a specially approved private train.

Qin Yu, Lü Xin, and a few other high-profile individuals involved were escorted into a special detention compartment on the train, their hands cuffed behind their backs.

The detention compartment was also custom-built.

Inside the train, all signals and Superpowers were blocked. Aside from the thirty-odd male soldiers assigned to the escort, all of the train’s staff, including the conductor, were military officers. All told, there were nearly a hundred people, all of them the best of the best.

A cool breeze washed over them as they boarded the train.

Jiang Qingli still had matters to discuss with the staff, so Baili Jing took her luggage and went to their private room first.

The journey from the Twelve Cities to the Ninth District would take a full day and night, as the train had to undergo an inspection in every district it passed through.

After Jiang Qingli finished her business, she went to check on Qin Yu.

The detention compartment was small, with four white walls and only a table and chair in the center. Qin Yu was sitting there.

These past few days, Qin Yu had been interrogated by the military countless times. Spiritual-type interrogators had questioned her one after another, relentlessly, and her attitude had shifted from fierce resistance to complete surrender. She had spilled everything she knew.

Now, Qin Yu was slumped over the table, looking listless.

When the door opened, Qin Yu lifted her eyelids. Seeing it was Jiang Qingli, she curled her lip in annoyance. "What, did you come to laugh at me?"

Jiang Qingli leaned against the door, her expression impassive. "I just came to inform Your Highness that we’ve already set off for the First District. We will arrive in a week."

Qin Yu’s five senses had been blocked on the way here.

She had thought they were just moving her to a different interrogation site, not that she was already on a train back to the First District.

Qin Yu slammed her cuffed hands on the table, fury blazing in her eyes. "So what if we’re going to the First District! You think my mother will convict me because of your baseless accusations?! I’m telling you, I am a female of the Imperial Family! The noblest blood flows through my veins! She would never truly take my life! When I rise again, you, the Jiang Family, Xie Youchen—you’ll all be finished!"

Jiang Qingli waited for her to finish her tirade, then smiled. "I’m relieved to see you have so much energy. Because for the foreseeable future, your diet might be changing."

The detention compartment was just four walls. The lights were on twenty-four hours a day, and there were no blind spots for the surveillance cameras.

There was no toilet, and the only sustenance provided was a nutrient solution to keep her alive.

With that said, Jiang Qingli closed the door before Qin Yu could start cursing again.

She also took a look at Lü Xin while she was at it.

Compared to Qin Yu, Lü Xin was quite calm about the news of going to the First District. In any case, she had long been prepared.

Just before Jiang Qingli left, however, Lü Xin asked, "How is Y-01? Based on his contamination value, he should be dead by now."

Jiang Qingli said, "Unfortunately, he’s still alive. And he’s stronger than before."

"It seems my mother’s techniques are still superior, then."

Lü Xin heaved a long, regretful sigh, then added suddenly, "If I had known, I would have experimented directly on Baili Jing—no, I should have used Xie Youchen. He’s a dragon. A dragon should be stronger than a snake in certain aspects. Why didn’t I think of that before..."

Then, she started muttering deliriously about her experiments, obsessively repeating the names of several males in the Empire as a morbid light gleamed in her eyes.

Jiang Qingli couldn’t bear to watch any longer and turned to leave.

’How did those two ever manage to work together?’ she thought. ’They’d probably start a fight after just a few sentences...’

’Oh, right. Uncle Yuan said he would send a powerful helper. I wonder who it is.’

To get back to her room, she had to pass through the dining car.

The dining car was empty. Just as Jiang Qingli was about to reach the far end, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She froze, catching a figure approaching out of the corner of her eye. She snatched a dinner fork from the table and thrust it fiercely behind her—

Her wrist was caught mid-air. A young man’s low, magnetic voice chuckled beside her ear. "Quite sharp."

"You let me hear you on purpose, didn’t you." Jiang Qingli looked at Ye Linyuan with dissatisfaction. "Don’t you have business to attend to? What are you doing here?"

She froze. "Wait, are you the person Uncle Yuan sent?"

The words had barely left her mouth when a cold, stern voice sounded from behind her. "Mr. Ye’s status, I’m afraid, makes it inconvenient for him to assist the military."

Ye Linyuan raised an eyebrow and looked past her.

Xie Youchen, dressed in his military uniform, was slowly walking toward them. His every word and action radiated immense pressure.

The gazes of the two males met mid-air, sparking with fire.

Ye Linyuan only glanced at Xie Youchen before looking back down at Jiang Qingli, his voice softening. "I came to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Come here."

Ye Linyuan hooked a finger around hers.

Jiang Qingli put the fork back. She had used the handle end.

Ye Linyuan watched her, his gaze softening slightly.

Those vertical golden pupils usually gave off a cold, chilling aura of immense intimidation. But now, from beneath his long, thick lashes, Jiang Qingli could see the gentle affection that was normally so hard to detect.

"Jiang Qingli."

Ye Linyuan tilted his head, speaking close to her ear.

His tone was still flat, as if delivering a warning, yet it held an undercurrent of intimacy.

"Remember to miss me."

After he spoke, right in front of Xie Youchen, he cupped Jiang Qingli’s face and kissed her—