Chapter 164 - 106: I Won’t Steal Your Goddess

Chapter 164: Chapter 106: I Won’t Steal Your Goddess

Something suddenly occurred to Tian Wenjing, and he found it strange:

"Right, last night Inspector Ling defended Jiang Mu so fiercely she was practically willing to come to blows with me. But with such a huge commotion within the Bureau today, she hasn’t shown her face at all? That’s quite odd.

Could it be... that even she has started to suspect that kid, and is now too heartbroken and disappointed to show up?"

Ran Qingshan’s expression grew strained.

He brought a fist to his mouth, gave two dry coughs, and said in a low, slightly awkward voice:

"Well... I was afraid that if she found out, she’d lose her temper and come storming in here with her sword, making an already bad situation irreversible.

So I sent a trusted subordinate ahead of time to keep her occupied at the post station, using the excuse of an urgent mission report. As for today’s events at the Bureau, I... I intentionally had people keep it from her. I didn’t let her find out."

Tian Wenjing was stunned.

Then, he shot to his feet and said:

"I’ve just remembered I have some urgent business to attend to, so I won’t keep you company. Director Ran, you’re on your own."

With that said, he departed in a hurry.

Not long after Tian Wenjing left the courtyard, he heard the urgent sound of rushing air from the distance.

Immediately after, a loud CRASH came from the administrative office.

It sounded as if a table had been split in two.

Then came a woman’s sharp cry, brimming with monstrous rage:

"Ran Qingshan! Have you lost your mind!? How dare you suspect even Xiaojiang? And you deliberately hid it from me?!"

’Xiaojiang?’

’How affectionate.’

Tian Wenjing didn’t break his stride, sighing inwardly.

’This kid... he really is popular with the ladies.’

——

「Meanwhile.」

Ruyan, who had been hiding in the shadows and secretly gathering news, was completely dumbfounded when she learned that Jiang Mu was actually fine.

After returning home, her heart was filled with anxiety and fear.

The more she thought about it, the more she regretted her rashness.

’What possessed me back then? Why did I have to deliver the Sound Stone myself?’

’Great. Jiang Mu is fine, but doesn’t that put me, the informant, in great danger?’

’But on second thought, all I did was turn in something I found. It shouldn’t be a big deal, right?’

’The Demon-slaying Bureau can’t possibly punish someone just for turning in a lost item, can they?’

Ruyan’s heart was in turmoil; she couldn’t calm down no matter what.

After thinking it over and over, she decided it was best to leave Hu State for now, head back to her hometown in the countryside, and lie low for a while.

And so, she began to frantically pack her bags.

However, in the midst of her anxious packing, she suddenly felt the light in the room grow dim.

She spun around immediately.

There in the doorway stood a tall, burly figure. She had no idea when he’d arrived.

Backlit, his face was obscured...

Ruyan cried out in fear, stumbling backward and falling onto the edge of the bed, her heart pounding wildly.

However, when she used the light filtering in from the window to get a clear look and saw that the visitor was Zhang Daxie, most of her terror instantly dissipated.

’As long as it isn’t that demon Jiang Mu at my door, everything is fine.’

’Zhang Daxie wouldn’t do anything to me.’

"That Sound Stone... was it you who sent it to the Demon-slaying Bureau?"

Zhang Daxie asked in a deep voice, his gaze locking onto the woman like a razor’s edge.

"I... I really just found it."

Ruyan lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes.

Zhang Daxie walked toward her, one step at a time.

His tall frame cast a shadow that completely enveloped the petite Ruyan, like a giant beast exuding an intense, oppressive aura.

"Who gave it to you!?"

Zhang Daxie’s voice suddenly rose, filled with suppressed fury, as his right hand unconsciously gripped the hilt of the blade at his waist.

"I really just found it, Daxie, you have to believe me!"

Ruyan looked up, her face pale as she desperately tried to explain.

However, when her gaze fell on Zhang Daxie’s hand gripping the hilt of his blade, veins starting to bulge, she froze.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

She stared at the man before her—the man who had grown up with her, who had once been utterly devoted to her, who had eyes only for her—and her voice trembled:

"You... you... you’re going to kill me?"

Zhang Daxie didn’t speak.

But his unconcealed killing intent said it all.

Ruyan’s mind went blank.

’This man... he once liked me so much, liked me enough to do anything for me.’

’And now, just because I did something that was disadvantageous to his superior,’

’he actually... wants to kill me?’

Seeing him slowly draw his blade, Ruyan finally broke down.

She wanted to run, only to find her path was blocked.

In her desperation, an idea suddenly struck her. She threw herself forward, wrapped her arms around the man’s waist, and cried out:

"Daxie! Daxie! I’ll marry you, I promise I’ll marry you!

I’ll have your children, and from now on, I’ll love you, and only you. Daxie, you’ve always liked me, haven’t you? I know you have! The truth is...

The truth is, I’ve always really liked you, too. I was just too foolish before, I didn’t know how to cherish what we had... Let’s leave this place, go somewhere nobody knows us, and live a good life..."

She was trying to use their past feelings and a fantasy of a future together to fight for a chance at survival.

Her tears soaked the front of Zhang Daxie’s shirt.

Her body trembled slightly with fear.

Zhang Daxie let her cling to him, neither pushing her away nor responding.

After a long moment, he finally spoke. "There’s something I want to ask you."

Hearing this, a glimmer of hope sparked in Ruyan’s tear-filled eyes. "What is it? Ask me, Daxie. I’ll tell you anything!"

Zhang Daxie looked down and stared into her eyes.

"When we were kids, it was always the four of us playing together: me, Xiao Kui, you, and Ying’Er.

Back then, Ying’Er’s family was poor. She wore ragged clothes and was small and scrawny. You always looked down on her, calling her ’ugly girl’ behind her back and leading the other kids in mocking her."