Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Gu Yanqi walked up to Fu Zhi and asked, âHow is Nanli?â
âNot well. He received a direct blow to his heart, and his wound is starting to get infected,â Fu Zhi said as she cut open Li Nanliâs shirt with a pair of scissors. âThere are two pills in my first-aid kit. One is white, while the other is red. Dissolve the white one in water and feed it to him. Then, help me crush the red one. We have to get the metal scalpel out first.â
âOkay.â
As Gu Yanqi went to do Fu Zhiâs bidding, the several members of the Shadow Corp exchanged a glance before looking at Fu Zhi as if she was some kind of plague.
âWhat kind of medicine are you going to feed President Li?â Xiang Qian asked, his voice thick with disgust.
Fu Zhi glanced at him and replied, âI donât think it has anything to do with you.â
âIt doesnât have anything to do with me?â
Xiang Qian sneered and continued. âRed pill and white pill? You canât even tell us the names of the pills, yet you expect us to believe that they are safe to consume? Who knows if youâre feeding President Li poison? Let me make myself clear, Fu Zhi. If anything happens to President Li, we wonât let you get out of here alive!â
âXiang Qian!â Liu Mi snarled.
âPoison?â
There was no expression on Fu Zhiâs face. She spun her head to look Xiang Qian in the eye and said, emphasizing every syllable that emerged from her mouth, âDo you have any idea how expensive my medicine is?â
âI donât know and I donât want to know,â Xiang Qian replied. Just as he was about to say something else, Yu Sheng came up to him and pulled him away.
Before he was pulled away by Yu Sheng, he turned his head around and threatened her. âAll you need to know is that if something happens to President Li, you wonât live either. Itâs as simple as that!â
The atmosphere in the house was tense.
Gu Yanqi fed the medicine to Li Nanli.
In the meantime, Fu Zhi had already extracted the metal scalpel from his chest. Then, she sprinkled the red powder around his wound and wrapped it with gauze.
Gu Yanqi proceeded to help Li Nanli put on a new set of clothes. While he was helping Li Nanli change into his clothes, Fu Zhi unexpectedly saw the scar on Li Nanliâs shoulder and froze.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
After roughly 30 minutes, Li Nanliâs wound stopped bleeding. However, Xiang Qian and the other members of the Shadow Corp could not tell if this was the effect of Fu Zhiâs medicine or not.
One of them took a step forward and felt Li Nanliâs pulse.
âHis pulse is smooth and not as disordered as before. I think itâs because of the medicine. As long as the wound is not infected, he will survive,â he reported to Liu Mi.
The crowd heaved a long sigh of relief upon knowing that Li Nanli would survive.
âThank you so much, Ms. Fu!â Liu Mi said as he nodded at Fu Zhi.
Although the remaining members of the Shadow Corp did not say anything, their attitude changed, and the way they looked at Fu Zhi changed as well. One after another, they began expressing their gratitude to Fu Zhi, all of them save for Xiang Qian.
Although he appreciated Fu Zhi for saving Li Nanliâs life, he still did not trust her.
Since Li Nanliâs condition had improved, Liu Mi began to think about an escape plan. He thought for a moment before looking at Gu Yanqi and asking, âYoung Master Gu, how is the situation out there?â
âNot good. Although Fu Zhi and I only came across Mark on our way here, I heard from his people that they have dispatched all the members of the Phantom Lord this time.â Gu Yanqi filled them in on everything that had happened out there while he and Fu Zhi had been coming up the mountain. âTheyâre well-prepared and they want to capture us alive. I believe that there are other forces supporting them aside from the Zheng Family.â
Everyoneâs expression changed.
As they were discussing their plan, a bright light came through the window.
Jiang Zheng rushed into the room and said nervously, âThis is bad. They demand that we hand President Li over to them. They will only give us 30 minutes to consider it. If we donât do it, they are going to launch a full-out attack on us!â
âThese sons of b*tches!â Xiang Qian growled as he punched the wall.
An older member of the Shadow Corp looked at Gu Yanqi and asked, âWhat should we do now, Young Master Gu?â
Li Nanli had not woken up yet, so the only person who could make this decision right now was Gu Yanqi.
There was no way they would hand Li Nanli over to them, but it would not do them any good if they stayed in the house and did nothing either. After all, the Phantom Lord was going to launch an attack on them in 30 minutes, and when that happened, many of them would die.
Gu Yanqi licked his lips as a plan took shape in his head. He looked at Fu Zhi, who was not far away, and said, âThey just want Li Nanli and the Shadow Corp. I can negotiate with them and pretend to agree to hand Li Nanli over in exchange for your safety.â
Xiang Qianâs face turned livid when he heard what Gu Yanqi had said. âWhy, Young Master Gu? Do you know how dangerous it is to negotiate with a group of outlaws? Besides, how could you use President Li as leverage in exchange for her safety?â
âXiang Qian is right. What if something goes wrong in the middle of the negotiation? What if they ask us to hand President Li over to them before they let Fu Zhi go down the mountain? There are so many of them, and each of them is not only good at fighting but also equipped with powerful weaponry, so itâd be like hitting a rock with an egg if we went straight up to them. Besides, without the house as our shield, itâd be a piece of cake for them to get President Li from us as well.â
âI donât agree to exchange President Li for Ms. Fuâs safety either. Letâs just hold on for a while longer. Iâm pretty sure that our reinforcements are on their way here.â
The Shadow Corp had been formed to protect Li Nanli. Therefore, none of them were willing to expose Li Nanli to danger, especially now that Gu Yanqi was suggesting to exchange Li Nanli for Fu Zhiâs safety.
After all, if Fu Zhi had not insisted that Old Master Zheng was faking his illness, Li Nanli would not have changed the plan and the situation might not have been that bad.
âHowever, you guys should not forget one thing,â Liu Mi chimed in. âMs. Fu has nothing to do with this matter at all. Sheâs only here because of President Li.â
âThatâs right. Yu Sheng, you and Jiang Zheng are going to escort Fu Zhi down the mountain. If the Phantom Lord members go back on their word, you two have to do everything you can to keep her safe.â
Gu Yanqi was very aware that Fu Zhi did not owe them anything. Even if Jiang Jinshu was with them right now, the situation would still be the same and he would end up dying with them. In fact, Gu Yanqi was somewhat grateful for Fu Zhiâs insistence. Regardless of whether or not Old Master Zheng was faking his illness, at the very least, Jiang Jinshu did not have to die with them.
âNo!â Yu Sheng and Jiang Zheng replied.
âWeâre not cowards. Our duty is to keep President Li safe. If Ms. Fu wants to go, she can go alone. Weâre going to live and die with everyone in the Shadow Corp!â
âThatâs right, Young Master Gu. Ask somebody else to take care of Ms. Fu. Iâd live in regret for the rest of my life if I ran away now!â
âThis is an order!â Gu Yanqi shouted sternly. âAre you two going to disobey my orders? I understand that itâs your duty to protect President Li, but itâs your duty to protect Ms. Fu as well. In any case, your mission is to escort Ms. Fu down the mountain. Protect her like you two protect President Li. Besides, itâs not like you guys can reverse the situation by staying here.â
Yu Sheng and Jiang Zheng were exasperated, but they did not know what to say.
Not only had Fu Zhi saved Li Nanli, but she had saved Gu Yanqi as well. Whatâs more, they knew that Gu Yanqi was right. Their presence was useless there, and they could not reverse the situation by staying either.
The air in the house was cold, and the atmosphere was tense.
Fu Zhi moved her gaze away from Li Nanli, to the endless darkness behind the mountain.
âFu Zhi,â Gu Yanqi said. âLetâs go. I will talk to them. You have to get off the mountain. No one can know what will happen in half an hour. Besides, Nanli also wants you to live.â
Everyone turned to Fu Zhi.
Even though they already knew the answer, they were still wondering in their hearts if Fu Zhi would stay or not.
Fu Zhi looked at Li Nanli and said, âYouâre right. I want to live as well.â
Xiang Qian let out a scoff, and his gaze was dripping with contempt as he stared at her. Although the rest of the members of the Shadow Corp did not show any emotion on their faces, it was very clear that they were not happy with Fu Zhiâs choice either.
Gu Yanqi, on the other hand, found it normal. After all, nobody would want to die if they were given the chance to live. Besides, he firmly believed that Li Nanli would do everything he could to keep Fu Zhi safe, even if it cost him his life.
Gu Yanqi pulled a jacket out of his bag and handed it to Fu Zhi. âLetâs go then.â
However, Fu Zhi did not accept it.
Dumbfounded, Gu Yanqi asked, âWhatâs wrong?â
Fu Zhi pointed at Li Nanli and replied, âIâm going with him.â
âHah!â Xiang Qian, who was standing not far away, scoffed coldly. âThe Phantom Lordâs target is President Li. Since youâre so smart, donât tell me you donât know that they wouldnât possibly let you go down the mountain with President Li.
âSince you already said that you want to live, stop saying that you want to go with President Li to show that you care about him. No one is going to buy that. Besides, all of us are going to die here, so no one is going to tell the world that you left your own boyfriend to die alone!â
He paused for a moment before adding, âIn a few years, maybe you will thank yourself for making this decision when you get a new boyfriend.â
âWe can leave through the back of the mountain.â
Fu Zhi ignored Xiang Qian. âDidnât you just go scouting? No one is at the back of the mountain. It is a blind spot, and we can get out of here if we go that way.â
âYes, thereâs no one there. This is because the back of the mountain is a minefield!â
The whole mountain range behind the Lucky Cloud Pavilion was used as a training base by the army there. Since it was deserted and no one would go there, the army had not removed the landmines that were installed there.
The minefield covered a large area, and there were even yellow lines and signs to prevent the general public in the area from entering it.
The Phantom Lord knew about the situation at the back of the mountain as well⦠Therefore, there was no way for the Shadow Corp of the Li Family to bring Li Nanli away through the minefield without a landmine tracking device.
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