“Young Master, come have some fruit.”
Looking at the little maid handing him a fork, Lu Yunze’s expression became distinctly odd.
“Why am I here?”
“Young Master, what are you joking about? Haven’t you always been here? Hurry and eat some fruit.”
Lu Yunze clearly remembered he had been fighting that mutated monster, and then… then he couldn’t remember what happened, and somehow he ended up on this bed.
“Little Miss, what’s going on?”
“Forget it, I should go find out what’s going on first, so I won’t eat for now.”
Just as Lu Yunze was about to push her hand away, the little maid suddenly pinched his cheek and forcibly turned his face toward hers.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Damn it, why won’t you eat!”
The little maid jabbed the fork toward his mouth.
“Eat, eat, eat, eat, what the hell is wrong with you, why just won’t you eat!”
Seeing she still couldn’t stuff the fruit into Lu Yunze’s mouth, Jiang Sui’s face suddenly twisted in a strange way. Under Lu Yunze’s stunned gaze, her arms grew longer and longer, suddenly stretching several meters.
That’s right, it was that monster!
Under the pressure of her looming form, Lu Yunze woke up.
“Jiang Sui turned into a stretchy freak!”
Lu Yunze screamed and sat up from the bed, letting out a huge sigh of relief when he realized it was all a dream.
What a weird dream. Jiang Sui turning into some stretchy freak—he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly tonight.
After calming down, Lu Yunze finally noticed the IV drip attached to his arm, and the arrangement of the room. Judging by the surroundings, this was a Hospital.
“I’m still alive.”
Lu Yunze remembered that he had still been fighting the mutated Li Zhiya, but the situation wasn’t exactly favorable.
Although he had some backup, it still depended on whether they could hold out long enough.
Later, he managed to get his hands on a heavy sword, but Li Zhiya’s regenerative ability was terrifyingly strong, and it was all he could do to suppress her.
And after that… did he pass out?
But since he was lying in the Hospital now, that meant Xiao Yan had succeeded.
Lu Yunze just felt his whole body sore and his head pounding, and had no idea how long he’d been out. Rubbing his back, he couldn’t help but complain:
“Why do I always have to get hospitalized after every big battle? If only the Hospital offered a membership card, then at least I’d get some discounts for frequent stays.”
As he was about to get out of bed, Lu Yunze ran into a passing nurse. She was overjoyed to see him awake and, after checking on him for a bit, went to inform the others outside.
At first, Lu Yunze wondered who would be notified, but then he saw Officer Wang walk in, looking both pleased and relieved.
“Mister Lu, you’re finally awake.”
“How long was I asleep?”
“A day and a half.”
Shorter than he expected.
After checking the time, he realized it was the afternoon—meaning the battle with Li Zhiya had happened just yesterday morning.
Officer Wang’s arrival conveniently helped explain what happened afterward.
By the time the police and Execution Division people arrived, the scene was already a mess. They found the unconscious Lu Yunze and Shu Yao, as well as Li Zhiya’s corpse.
“Thank you, Mr. Lu, for your efforts. Once again, you’ve resolved a major crisis in Lan City.”
Officer Wang’s smile was particularly warm.
“Thanks to your and Miss Shu’s assistance, not a single bystander was harmed throughout the incident. Even your Manor’s servants are all safe, not one injured.”
“Is Li Zhiya really dead? She won’t be coming back, will she?”
According to Officer Wang’s account, Li Zhiya had died in a grisly manner—her head and body separated, her belly split open, and most bizarrely, her abdominal cavity was completely empty, not a single internal organ left.
“The body was examined by the Execution Department of Arcane Arts. Confirmed deceased.”
“Better be sure.”
After everything these past few months, Lu Yunze had absolutely zero faith left in the local Execution Division.
If there were a competition for the world’s most unreliable department, Lu Yunze figured Lan City’s Execution Division could easily take the top spot. Even if they didn’t win first place, they’d still be at the very front of the pack.
After resting in the Hospital for a day, Lu Yunze’s body quickly recovered. As soon as the doctor gave the nod, he went through the discharge procedures without delay.
Stepping out of the Hospital, the very first thing Lu Yunze wanted to do was go home and take a look.
He’d thought the Manor would’ve been a complete ruin after the battle, but seeing it with his own eyes, it was in much better shape than he’d imagined.
The areas most heavily affected were just the front yard and the Hall. The garden in the courtyard was overturned, and several spots in the flowerbeds were ruined. The furniture in the Hall had all been smashed, with several big holes blown into the walls.
But the other places hadn’t suffered much damage. Most of the rooms on the second and third floors were completely intact.
Even the flowerbed that Lu Yunze had tended so carefully in the courtyard survived the disaster, becoming the only perfect scenery in the whole yard.
“Guess that’s the heavens showing me a little mercy.”
Lu Yunze stood before the flowerbed and murmured emotionally.
“Lu Gege!”
Hearing Shu Yao’s voice, Lu Yunze turned his head and saw her walking over.
“You’re out of the Hospital too?”
“Half a day earlier than you, Gege. The doctor said my injuries were mostly internal, so I could be discharged to recover at home.”
“That’s good.”
Shu Yao paused for a moment, looking a little awkward. Lu Yunze noticed, but didn’t say anything.
In the end, it was Shu Yao who spoke up first:
“Sorry, Gege, I couldn’t help much in the fight.”
“It’s fine, I think you did great.” Lu Yunze had already guessed she’d say something like this, so he patted her shoulder.
“If I could have done more, Lu Gege wouldn’t have had to fight so hard.”
“It’s alright, it’s alright. It’s not your fault. That kind of enemy is normally impossible to beat. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
After a few reassuring words from Lu Yunze, Shu Yao’s eyes lit up again, and a smile returned to her face.
“By the way, Lu Gege, you’re really amazing! You actually beat Li Zhiya all by yourself!”
When she said “by yourself,” Lu Yunze couldn’t help but laugh, “Yeah, usually people look down on me, but now I bet they’re all shocked.”
Shu Yao, however, seemed to pick up on something:
“Lu Gege, you really did win by yourself, right? Nobody else helped, especially not any woman, right?”
Why did she always seem so sensitive at times like this?
Lu Yunze could only keep a straight face and pretend to be startled:
“How can you doubt me? Even you, Shu Yao, think I’m not strong enough?”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant.”
Shu Yao’s attention quickly shifted.
“Just… I hope you don’t get entangled by any more strange women. After all, there’s no shortage of dangerous women in this city besides Li Zhiya.”
As she said this, there was a teasing glint in her smile, leaving Lu Yunze at a loss for words.
After that, their conversation shifted to post-battle matters. Although the Manor was a bit battered, it was still livable. Now, they could inform the servants to return and later hire reliable workers for repairs.
Seeing the servants return with expressions of relief, Lu Yunze finally felt at ease. At last, this ordeal was over.
From the disappearance cases months ago to the battle with Li Zhiya, this whole series of events was finally at an end.
The Execution Division also recovered two black disks and was trying to research them, as well as continuing the search for those who were still missing.
But that was no longer Lu Yunze’s concern; he wasn’t a member of the Execution Division anyway.
That evening, after all the servants had returned, Lu Yunze stayed in his own room and watched the sunlight outside gradually shift to a warm golden hue as the sun set, finally deciding to leave his bedroom.
He walked to the door of a room on the second floor and knocked, but there was no response.
Not in?
Lu Yunze wandered through the corridor for a bit before finally finding the person he’d been looking for out on the balcony.
As Lu Yunze’s footsteps broke the silence, she was leaning over, tending the flowers. When she turned her head, a beam of sunset light curved around her.
She turned with a gentle smile, wrapped in the sunset’s misty light, her long hair fluttering in the breeze, her silhouette highlighted by the last rays before dinner, graceful and resilient.
“Young Master, you’ve come to watch the sunset here too?”
“No, I came looking for you.”
Lu Yunze spread his hands.
“I wanted to ask about your friend, Xiao Yan. Is she alright?”
“Here I am standing in front of you, and you’re worried about another woman’s safety?”
After a little joke, Jiang Sui finally answered seriously.
“She’s fine, just a bit exhausted. She’ll be alright after some rest.”
“Good, please help me thank her for me.”
After Lu Yunze finished, he stood beside Jiang Sui, leaning against the railing, looking into the distance.
Jiang Sui observed his expression for a while before speaking:
“Young Master, if something’s on your mind, you can tell me directly.”
“As expected, I still can’t hide anything from you.”
Lu Yunze gave a wry smile.
“It’s nothing, just… I suddenly feel kind of useless.”
Everyone was praising Lu Yunze for defeating Li Zhiya and saving the day.
But in his heart, Lu Yunze was very clear he couldn’t take all the credit for himself.
He’d always dreamed of doing great things on his own, but at crucial moments, he’d always been helped by various women.
It had been this way since he was a child.
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