"Take your medicine. Go out to the balcony to drink it," Wong Qifu said.

"Okay." Xu Ke nodded.

As the two passed by the stairs, Xu Ke couldn't help but glance down. Of course, he saw nothing.

「On the Balcony」

The floor Wong Qifu lived on was quite high. At night, waves of wind swept past, leaving one feeling refreshingly cool.

"Are you cold?" Xu Ke asked after finishing his medicine, looking toward Wong Qifu.

"No, I'm fine," Wong Qifu said, watching a plane soar across the sky.

The weather in February could still be considered winter, but in Tianhai, it felt more like a cool autumn. So while Wong Qifu's robe might have seemed thin, it was enough to handle the chill.

"What did you want to tell me?" Xu Ke finally asked after observing Wong Qifu's profile for a moment.

Upon hearing this, Wong Qifu turned her head. "I want to give you a warning."

"Go ahead." Xu Ke's expression remained unchanged, but he already had a good idea of what she was about to say. It most likely has something to do with Wong Ting.

"Our Tianhai Martial Alliance is actually a local branch. The headquarters is in Long Capital," Wong Qifu said, looking at Xu Ke. "In the headquarters at Long Capital, there is an old Alliance Hierarch everyone calls the Martial Saint. He's a formidable force, and fewer than five people in the entire country can match him. He should be over seventy this year. He was supposed to retire ten years ago, but he didn't."

Xu Ke's eyes narrowed. "Why not?"

Martial Saint. He recalled his master mentioning him once. What a formidable and awe-inspiring figure!

But Xu Ke hadn't known the Martial Saint was the Martial Alliance Headquarters Master, let alone that he had delayed his retirement for ten years.

"He's waiting for his apprentice to accumulate enough merit to return and succeed him," Wong Qifu said.

As she finished speaking, Xu Ke's pupils shrank, and a guess instantly formed in his mind. "Is Wong Ting his apprentice?"

Wong Qifu nodded slowly. "That's right."

Xu Ke's face instantly darkened. So that means... dealing with Wong Ting just got even harder!

Wong Qifu didn't elaborate on how difficult dealing with Wong Ting would be, nor did she intend to discourage him, because she understood Xu Ke very well. So, she started by informing him of Wong Ting's powerful backing, hoping Xu Ke would think long-term and start preparing early.

And Xu Ke understood this as well.

He still remembered how Sun Luo had addressed Wong Ting tonight.

War God!

That title alone was proof of Wong Ting's illustrious combat record abroad. Furthermore, the fact that an expert Wong Ting casually dispatched was Sun Luo, an Innate Initial Stage cultivator, was even greater proof of how many masters he commanded.

And now... Wong Ting also has the Martial Alliance waiting for him to inherit!

Xu Ke now understood why so many major families had eagerly rushed to pick a side when Wong Ting had only established his reputation abroad and had yet to make a splash domestically. He had originally thought these families were just making a huge gamble. Now, he realized that Wong Ting already had a solid foundation.

"Start preparing as soon as you can. I'm sure he won't let this go," Wong Qifu said.

She had no romantic interest in Wong Ting. But how could Wong Ting, having openly declared his love, possibly allow her to marry Xu Ke, a man so far beneath him?

"I understand!" Xu Ke nodded.

"I'm not trying to pressure you. I just want you to be on your guard," Wong Qifu added.

Xu Ke smiled. "Don't worry, I know you're not pressuring me. Besides, he's already sent someone to my home to kill me. My feud with him is irreconcilable now, so it's better to know more about him."

Xu Ke knew she was worried he might feel inferior or overthink things, which was why she added that explanation.

Wong Qifu nodded. "As long as you understand."

After this conversation, the balcony fell silent again, the quiet broken only by the occasional gust of wind.

Xu Ke looked at the night sky. "What did you and your sister talk about just now?"

He remembered that before he'd left, Wang Qiya had asked to speak with Wong Qifu.

Hearing this, Wong Qifu glanced at Xu Ke before turning away again. "I didn't say much. She did all the talking... She cried so much her makeup was a mess, but she was still very cute."

"She told me she wanted to stay in Tianhai to help me, but now she's afraid of becoming a burden."

"I told her to focus on her studies and not to overthink it, that I could handle things on my own..."

"That just made her cry harder."

Xu Ke couldn't help but chuckle.

Wong Qifu continued, "Then she kept changing her mind. One moment, she wanted to rush back to her studies to graduate sooner. The next, she was worried about how stressful everything was. What if she went abroad and something happened to me? What if she couldn't see me one last time?"

Xu Ke smiled. Ye Chong's actions tonight had truly frightened Wang Qiya. She might have anticipated infighting among the six major families, but Ye Chong's methods had made one thing crystal clear...

The Wang Family's situation was not good.

However...

Xu Ke thought for a moment, then turned to Wong Qifu and said very seriously, "Tell her that with her brother-in-law here, her sister will be fine."

The wind died down at that moment, allowing Xu Ke to hear dewdrops falling from a nearby potted plant.

Wong Qifu looked at Xu Ke, her lips curling into a slight smile. "Alright."

Xu Ke grinned.

Wong Qifu then said, "So, are you going to protect me personally?"

"I can," Xu Ke nodded.

"Then how will you protect me personally tonight? My room doesn't have two beds," Wong Qifu said, catching him completely off guard.

Xu Ke was speechless.

Why does she always love to rub it in?!

In the end, Xu Ke did not go to Wong Qifu's room.

He chose the room next door.

Staring at the ceiling, Xu Ke soon fell asleep. Although it was his first time sleeping in the Wang Family home, perhaps because her presence lingered everywhere, it didn't feel unfamiliar at all.

He slept soundly until morning.

「Seven-thirty in the morning.」

It was still early, and birds chirped incessantly outside the window.

"Mister Xu, breakfast is ready!" A knock came at the door. It was Wang Wu's voice.

Xu Ke, who was meditating cross-legged on the bed, opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. "Alright, Uncle Wu, I'll be right there."

"Yes." Wang Wu left.

Then, Xu Ke got up and left the room.

The moment he opened the door, Wong Qifu's figure came into view. She had already changed and was looking at messages on her phone.

Seeing her, Xu Ke was a bit dazed. In all this time, this is the first time I've seen her in the morning. It felt almost surreal.

"Good morning," Xu Ke said.

Seeing Xu Ke emerge, Wong Qifu asked, "Have you eaten?"

Xu Ke shook his head.

"Then you should go downstairs and have breakfast. After that, take your medicine and ask your friend if he's coming over today. If he's not, then you can go out." Wong Qifu dispensed with the small talk and got straight to the point.

Seeing her all-business manner, Xu Ke couldn't engage in idle chatter and could only nod obediently. "Okay, I'll ask him in a bit."

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