"Su Xuan..." Alice opened her mouth, confused. "The friend you wanted to introduce to me is... her?"

"Yes!" Su Xuan nodded seriously. "It's a shame she's already asleep and can't introduce herself. She's from the world on the mountain..."

Su Xuan briefly explained Qi Li's background to Alice, recounting how they had met and, of course, mentioning her injuries.

"Oh!" Alice breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought... well, Su Xuan, if you run into something like this again, remember to call me. She's a girl, after all. It isn't convenient for you to take care of her alone."

Alice walked to the bedside, gently lifted a corner of the quilt, and whispered in amazement, "Are all the girls from the mountains this beautiful?"

Su Xuan curled his lip. "Definitely not. Didn't you hear what Lu Dongshan said? There are people with two heads up there. For all we know, most of the women in the mountains look very strange."

"Such a smooth talker!" Alice pouted at Su Xuan, then left the bedside and threw herself into his arms, whispering two words: "I missed you!"

I yearn for you day after day, but I do not see you. That kind of longing can be endured. But once we were truly reunited, not having him in my sight for even a moment became unbearable! It's like a child who gets a beloved toy and has to keep taking it out to look at it, over and over, fearing it will disappear if they stop watching...

Back on the plane, she had thought it would be nice enough to just keep flying forever. She was content. The space was so small that she wasn't afraid he would turn around and vanish.

"One day, you'll get tired of this. You'll argue with me, and you'll wish I were farther away," Su Xuan said, gently patting Alice's back.

"I won't. Not unless you..." Alice whispered, "Not unless you stop caring about me..."

Alice stood on tiptoe.

She tilted her chin up.

She closed her eyes.

"Ah, don't come near me!"

Just then, Qi Li cried out, as if caught in a nightmare. Her hand shot out into the air, grasping for something.

Alice stuck her tongue out at Su Xuan before walking to the bed. She took Qi Li's hand and said softly, "Don't be afraid, it's okay..."

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

Su Xuan's phone suddenly started vibrating on the bedside table. He picked it up and glanced at the caller ID: Zhong Huilan.

Not wanting to disturb Qi Li, Su Xuan stepped outside. He looked at the big white dog dozing on the ground and answered the phone. "Sister Zhong, has something happened?"

"Yes," Zhong Huilan said gravely. "You should come over and see for yourself. Someone just sent me a gift."

"Oh?" Su Xuan narrowed his eyes. "A gift sent in the middle of the night is unlikely to be a good one."

"You're right," Zhong Huilan said tersely. "It's a human head."

"Qiao Yongshou's?" Su Xuan asked abruptly.

"Impressive!" Zhong Huilan sounded astonished. "How did you guess?"

"Qi Li made it back," Su Xuan said slowly. "She was ambushed on her way here and seriously injured. Now she's hiding at my house. So, I figured Qiao Yongshou probably didn't make it back safely either. I just didn't expect him to end up dead."

"Su Xuan, someone doesn't want us involved in this," Zhong Huilan said.

"Obviously." Su Xuan nodded. Qiao Yongshou's head was a threat.

"But I can't ignore this now," Zhong Huilan stated after a few seconds of silence.

"I understand." Su Xuan didn't say anything else. The severed head was a blatant provocation. If Zhong Huilan pretended not to see it, she would lose all professional dignity. Besides, it wasn't just her own reputation on the line.

"The reason I called you tonight is..." Zhong Huilan began.

"Sister Zhong, I can't help you much anymore. I have my own business to attend to," Su Xuan cut in.

"You're already in the middle of it," she replied.

"We'll talk later."

Su Xuan hung up and put his phone away. Tilting his head back, he looked toward the main entrance. In front of the tightly closed gates stood a person in a black robe. It was the same person from the airport, the one who had been sitting cross-legged on the airplane's wing. The hem of the black-robed figure's garment fluttered in the night breeze, giving it an unreal appearance.

"Friend," Su Xuan suddenly called out to the figure, "you're already dead. Why insist on stirring up trouble? Will you only be happy when many more people have died?"

He was certain the black-robed person was not a living being. He was also testing them, trying to see if Qi Li's ambush was connected to them.

"I am not dead."

"Don't meddle in what doesn't concern you."

After leaving those two sentences behind, the black-robed figure dissolved into thin air.

Su Xuan frowned. He picked up his phone again and contacted Lu Dongshan, who was still staying in Kangnai. "There's been a change of plans. Tomorrow is off."

「The next morning.」

A light drizzle drifted down from the sky.

Alice, who hadn't slept all night, quickly ate breakfast at Su Xuan's house and rushed to Kangnai to care for her father. Before leaving, she didn't forget to plant a kiss on Su Xuan's cheek. She also took the two children with her. Having been away for some time, she missed them dearly, and they missed her too.

Meanwhile, Lu Dongshan went from the hospital to Su Xuan's home, where he met Qi Li and learned the severity of the situation. He also discovered that Qiao Yongshou was dead.

"Brother Su, we really can't go up the mountain now," Lu Dongshan said gravely after calling Su Xuan into the yard. "It's quite clear. The faction that killed Yan Xiaosong doesn't want us to return. Whoever tries to go back will die!"

"Yeah, that seems to be the case," Su Xuan nodded.

"But what do we do?" The towering Lu Dongshan appeared unusually flustered. "If the message doesn't get back, a full-scale war between the two sects is inevitable. By the time we can return, there might be no Floating Cloud Sect left, and the Spirit-Taming Sect would likely be gone too!"

"We have to go back!"

Just as Su Xuan was wondering how to answer, Qi Li appeared, supporting herself on the doorframe. She said weakly, "We must go back!"

"Junior Sister..." Lu Dongshan frowned, his expression pained as he looked at Qi Li dressed in Su Xuan's pajamas.

"I can still hold on," Qi Li said, clenching her teeth. "Even if I die on the way, I have to get this message back!"

"Let me ask you something. If the two sects go to war, will there be any buffer period?" Su Xuan suddenly asked.

"No," Lu Dongshan shook his head. "The hatred runs too deep. Yan Xiaosong was the son of the Sect Master of the Spirit-Taming Sect!"

"Then..." Su Xuan raised a hand. "If war does break out, how long will it last?"

"The two sects are about equal in strength. It would take quite a while to determine a victor," Lu Dongshan said, unable to guess what Su Xuan was getting at.

"I have another question. Let's say you do manage to get the message back safely. Who's going to believe you?" Su Xuan glanced toward the door. "All the witnesses from the Spirit-Taming Sect are probably dead by now."

"That..." Lu Dongshan's face turned ashen. "No one would believe us!"

Qi Li immediately asked, "Su Xuan, do you have a better idea?"

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