Chapter 294: Knife

The heavy door closed quickly behind her, emitting a dull clang, temporarily cutting off the deafening explosions and roars outside.

Inside the vehicle, the light was dim, with only the dashboard and a few emergency lights giving off a faint glow. The air was thick with the strong smell of gunpowder, oil, and blood. It was Ye Lan’s blood.

Mu Xi was placed on the cold seat by Ye Lan. She subconsciously curled up, wincing as the sharp pain in her ankle made her gasp.

Ye Lan sat down close behind, leaning back against the seat, letting out a very faint, suppressed gasp. Her face looked somewhat pale under the dim light, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead. The sweat dripped down her elegantly shaped temples and disappeared into her black hair.

The armored vehicle lurched forward with a low engine roar, and the body shuddered violently as it obviously evaded attacks at high speed. Outside, the explosions and shrieks of energy weapons continued unabated, each violent tremor threatening to tear the steel fortress apart.

Inside the carriage, however, fell into an eerie silence. Only the roar of the engine, the scraping of wheels over gravel, and the intermittent thunder-like explosions from outside could be heard.

Mu Xi’s gaze uncontrollably slid toward Ye Lan’s back. The scorched tear in her combat uniform was like an ugly mouth, silently telling of the brutality it had endured. Dark red blood had spread, dyeing the surrounding fabric deeper, with edges even somewhat dried and clotted, presenting a shocking purple-black color.

Filthy. Those two words were like poison-tipped needles, repeatedly stabbing at Mu Xi’s heart. It was all for her. She clenched her fist tightly, the pain of her nails digging into her skin bringing her back to reality for a moment.

‘I must not forget—my parents’ tragic deaths, the torture in the dungeon, the humiliation day and night… all because of this woman!’

‘Hatred is the foundation that keeps me alive. How can I waver so easily?’

‘Ye Lan’s actions are just another method of control. Using her body to block the attack, creating the illusion of a life-saving favor, breaking down her defenses, making her fall again—it must be!’

‘This woman is deep and ruthless, adept at all kinds of tricks—playing the martyr, psychological warfare—she has them all.’

Mu Xi warned herself to stay calm, to stay clear-headed. She must never again be fooled by this false tenderness and sacrifice.

However, the dam of reason seemed so fragile in front of the wound she had seen with her own eyes. That horrific injury was not just frightening to look at. The high temperature and impact of an energy beam could instantly destroy flesh and tissue.

Even a woman as strong as Ye Lan could not be impervious to pain. Her pale lips, furrowed brows, and the occasional uncontrollable, faint tremors… all silently confirmed this.

The attacks outside seemed to intensify. A violent shockwave swept through, and the armored vehicle suddenly tilted to one side, objects inside clattering loudly. Mu Xi lost her balance and was about to crash into the wall of the vehicle.

A hand with the smell of blood reached out in time and firmly held her shoulder. It was Ye Lan. Her movements were still quick and forceful, but the moment she touched Mu Xi’s shoulder, her arm trembled almost imperceptibly.

“Sit tight.”

Ye Lan’s voice sounded, a bit hoarse. She didn’t look at Mu Xi, her sharp gaze fixed on the chaotic battlefield through the narrow bulletproof observation window. Her other hand pressed the communicator, issuing commands concisely and clearly:

“Covering fire! Maintain max speed, lose them! Vehicle Three, right flank, pin them down!”

The responses from the escort team came through the built-in communication channels, with gasps and tension, but the voices carrying out the orders were unwavering.

Ye Lan handled the battle situation as if the wound on her back didn’t exist. Her profile, under the dim emergency light, was sharply defined, with an almost cold focus.

Mu Xi silently averted her gaze, lowering her eyelids, staring at her torn pant leg and the small scratches on her arm. Those wounds were nothing compared to the bloody mess on Ye Lan’s back.

Inside the carriage, aside from Ye Lan’s occasional commands and the continuous gunfire outside, there was only suffocating silence.

This silence was more unbearable than any fierce argument. It enveloped the two like an invisible web, full of unspoken complex emotions and sharp contradictions. Hatred and being saved, control and sacrifice, truth and pretense… countless thoughts churned in Mu Xi’s mind, leaving her a tangled mess.

The armored vehicle lurched violently again, as if running over some huge obstacle. Mu Xi looked up and met Ye Lan’s gaze as she turned.

Those deep, phoenix-like eyes were still startlingly sharp in the dimness. The usual mockery and arrogance were gone, replaced by a heavy, almost melancholic complex emotion, and… a deeply hidden trace of exhaustion and pain.

Ye Lan’s lips moved, as if she wanted to say something. But in the end, she just looked away, again staring out the window, and ordered in a low voice to the driver:

“Faster!”

The vehicle suddenly tilted violently to the left, accompanied by a screech of metal scraping, as if it had hit some huge obstacle. Mu Xi’s body uncontrollably flew to one side. The immense inertia hit her instantly; she was light, and her entire body uncontrollably flew to one side.

Instead of the expected pain of hitting the cold wall, she fell into an embrace that smelled of blood and a certain unique cold fragrance. Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

In the chaos, Mu Xi, trying to steady herself, grabbed forward wildly with her hands. She felt a soft and elastic touch, and instinctively squeezed hard—

The air instantly became terrifyingly silent. Only the ongoing explosions outside and the suddenly accelerated heartbeats of the two inside remained.

Mu Xi froze, her mind blank. She looked down and saw her hand pressed against the softness of Ye Lan’s chest, her fingertips even sinking in due to the earlier panic.

Ye Lan also looked down at her hand, and in those deep phoenix eyes, for the first time, a clear flash of surprise and some indescribable complex emotion passed through.

Mu Xi snatched her hand back as if shocked, her face instantly flushed red like a boiled shrimp. She scrambled backward, trying to create distance, and her back slammed heavily into the cold vehicle wall with a dull thud.

The pain brought her back a little, but shame and embarrassment nearly drowned her.

‘What should I say?’

‘Apologize?’

Under this tense relationship, an apology seemed so weak and ridiculous. Moreover, the deep-rooted hatred in her heart prevented her from showing any softening toward Ye Lan.

Ye Lan didn’t speak immediately; she just slowly raised her hand and lightly touched the place where Mu Xi had grabbed her, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly, whether from pain or something else.

She looked at Mu Xi’s disheveled and humiliated appearance, and those eyes that were always full of arrogance and mockery were now shrouded in a thin, unreadable haze.

“Sit tight.”

Finally, Ye Lan spoke, her voice carrying a hint of forcibly suppressed hoarseness, breaking the suffocating awkwardness. Her tone was still commanding, but lacking some of her usual dominance, with a bit more exhaustion.

Mu Xi bit her lower lip and turned her head away, avoiding Ye Lan’s gaze. She stared at the tear in her pants leg from the glass, the tiny beads of blood seeping out, which were nothing compared to the shocking wound on Ye Lan’s back.

“I…”

Mu Xi’s voice was a bit dry. She cleared her throat, trying to make her tone sound cold and hard.

“I won’t thank you for saving me.”

Saying these words seemed to take all her strength. This was her bottom line, her final perseverance. She could not forget the blood feud because of one accidental rescue.