"Don't go near the water!?" Zhao Xixi froze.

Ruan Lan glared fiercely at Xu Lai. "Don't scare Xixi! What do you mean, 'don't go near the water'? She's on the swim team."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Zhao Xixi nodded repeatedly.

Xu Lai looked deeply into Zhao Xixi's eyes. The woman was entangled with resentful energy, placed under a shoddy curse. If she touched water, countless hands would materialize to cover her nose and mouth, suffocating her. With a snap of his fingers, the resentful energy instantly dissipated.

He said flatly, "I was able to save you this time, but you need to be more careful from now on."

Although Zhao Xixi didn't know what Xu Lai was talking about, she inexplicably felt goosebumps crawl over her skin.

"Hey, what's with all the cryptic talk? What's going on?" Ignoring their previous conflict, a deeply curious Ruan Lan couldn't help but ask.

"Someone wants to kill her. They want her to die in the water," Xu Lai said.

Ruan Lan's expression became conflicted. On the one hand, she didn't believe in such things. On the other, through their interactions over the past few days, she had gotten to know Xu Lai a little and knew he wasn't the type to make empty boasts. She immediately grew nervous. "For real? Don't scare us."

Just as he thought, Zhao Xixi's pretty face had turned deathly pale. She stammered, "Sister Ruan Lan... s-someone wants to k-kill me..."

Xu Lai glanced at them. "Believe it or not."

"I believe you! I believe you! I won't hold what happened before against you anymore," Ruan Lan said anxiously. "Since you can see what's happening, is there any way to save Xixi? She's a year younger than me; I've always treated her like a little sister."

Xu Lai rolled his eyes. He had only intervened out of consideration for Ruan Lan. But since she had asked again... he might as well see the good deed through to the end.

Xu Lai pointed a finger at Zhao Xixi's forehead. Spiritual Energy quickly converged. Before her baffled eyes, he drew a strange symbol that swiftly sank into her body.

"Done," he said.

Ruan Lan exclaimed in surprise, "That's it, Brother-in-law? How was it so fast!"

Xu Lai was speechless. That sounds a bit... off.

He explained, "This protective talisman will keep her safe for one month."

"And after a month?"

"The one who cast the curse won't wait a month to try again," Xu Lai said. "But if he does, he will suffer a fatal backlash and die."

Death?!

For Zhao Xixi and Ruan Lan, who were still freshmen and sophomores yet to step out into the real world, the word was incredibly heavy.

"Now that this is settled, go back and study," Xu Lai said, looking at Ruan Lan.

"Oh." Ruan Lan thought for a moment, then added, "Xixi, wait for me in your dorm today. Don't go anywhere. I'll take you home after my exam."

"Wait a minute—" Ruan Lan's eyes darted about mischievously. "Brother-in-law, you don't have anything to do this morning, do you?"

Xu Lai clicked his tongue. My sister-in-law is not only a schemer but also incredibly pragmatic. It's 'Xu Lai' when she needs nothing, and 'Brother-in-law' when she does. Forget everything else; the thickness of her skin is something no ordinary girl could hope to match.

"I'm busy."

"You're the director of the school infirmary! A director should do what a director is supposed to do!"

"Which is?"

"Taking a pretty and cute freshman student home," Ruan Lan said with a grin. "Xixi might even invite you upstairs for a cup of tea, and then..."

"There will be no 'and then'," Zhao Xixi said, her face flushing. "Sister Ruan Lan, I can get home by myself. There's no need to trouble Brother-in-law."

"Fine, I'll take you. You did call me Brother-in-law, after all," Xu Lai said.

Just then, his gaze sharpened. His keen senses penetrated the first-floor window and focused on a small grove by the road.

RUSTLE, RUSTLE.

The leaves trembled. A figure was there, flashing past in an instant.

Couldn't hold back for long, huh? Xu Lai's eyes glinted. "Let's go, Xixi. I'll take you home."

"Thank you, Brother-in-law."

Xu Lai walked with Zhao Xixi, but the figure that had been observing them from the shadows didn't reappear after they left Dongli University.

Xu Lai chuckled. "Stand right here and don't move. I'll be right back."

As soon as he finished speaking, his body transformed into a streak of light and vanished.

"Huh...?" Zhao Xixi blinked, completely dumbfounded. Where... where did he go?

「On the way to the classroom.」

With her headphones on and a book in hand, Ruan Lan alternately furrowed and relaxed her brow, concentrating hard for the upcoming afternoon exam. She was completely unaware of a man in sunglasses and a mask rapidly approaching her from behind.

The man's lips curled into a scornful sneer. Hah, so Xu Lai, the infamous illegitimate son of the Flower Fairy, is just a useless piece of trash. He can't even see through the simple trick of luring the tiger from the mountain...

Recently, news had spread to every corner of the Hua Country Martial Dao World: the Flower Fairy had broken through the Boundary into the Divine Gate, and Mount Haitang had become a Spirit Vein. Despite its vastness, Hua Country only had ten Spirit Veins, each controlled by an Eighth Grade Martial Ancestor or the Martial Dao Association. As for the higher-level Dragon Veins... their value was indescribable. They were the nation's fortune, and only Ninth Grade Great Grandmasters were qualified to enter one for their Cultivation! Therefore, the appearance of a new Spirit Vein sent Seventh Grade Grandmasters and all Martial Artists below them into a frenzy. If not for the Martial Dao Association's decree prohibiting anyone other than a Ninth Grade Martial Ancestor from entering Mount Haitang, the mountain would have already become a battlefield.

The man's eyes took on an obsessed gleam. Outsiders only know Mount Haitang is a Spirit Vein, but I saw it from afar—the Black Dragon coiled in the clouds at the summit... Mount Haitang is a true Dragon Vein, and I must have it!

That was why he, Dai Yong, had laid the curse. He hoped to use Zhao Xixi to lure Xu Lai away. After all, as a descendant of the Flower Fairy, Xu Lai's Boundary couldn't be low. His original plan was to trick Xu Lai into leaving, then abduct Ruan Lan. After that, he would kidnap Ruan Tang and the Flower Fairy's great-granddaughter, Xu Yiyi, and use them all as leverage to demand half of the Dragon Vein! The plan was dangerous, but Dai Yong had no other choice. He was just one step away from becoming a Seventh Grade and needed a massive amount of Spiritual Energy. He couldn't enter a normal Spirit Vein, let alone a Dragon Vein, and heavenly treasures were impossibly rare. This was his only way forward. He refused to be stuck forever in the middle-three grades; he wanted to become a lofty Martial Ancestor who controlled his own destiny!

As he closed to within a meter of Ruan Lan, he clenched his fist and threw a punch. He used only a third of his strength—just enough to knock her unconscious without causing injury. But the instant his fist shot forward, a terrifying pressure descended from above. Dai Yong's expression changed dramatically. He was forced to abandon his attack and dodge swiftly to the left.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. This pressure... it's a Martial Arts Grandmaster!

Dai Yong whipped his head around to see Xu Lai walking calmly toward him, one step at a time.

He couldn't help but cry out in shock, "You're supposed to be gone!"

"I even walked with Zhao Xixi for a bit just to see what you had up your sleeve. And this is the result? You're trying to kidnap my sister-in-law?" Xu Lai said, his tone flat. "You have disappointed me. End your own life. If I am forced to act, not even a wisp of your soul will remain."

"In your dreams!" Dai Yong's figure retreated rapidly. He reached behind his back, pulled out a small crossbow, and squeezed the trigger.

WHOOSH!

Three bolts glinting with a cold light shot through the air, aimed directly at Xu Lai's heart

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