Chapter 150: Chapter 148: Silently Giving Again_1
"But sometimes, people who are not in love can have these feelings too," Liu Qianqian said.
Fang Ren pondered for a moment before speaking, "Perhaps there might be other reasons besides love."
"Of course, there are, like unrequited love or something," Liu Qianqian remarked.
When Fang Ren heard her say this, he suddenly didn't know how to respond. She was obviously talking about herself, leaving Fang Ren completely disordered and helpless.
The two walked for quite a while, and as they were about to reach the dormitory, Fang Ren suddenly felt a powerful presence rapidly approaching them.
He turned around abruptly and saw a woman dressed in black standing behind him and Liu Qianqian. The black clothing of this woman was different from the Night Walk Robe of the Nightfall Organization, leaning more towards the attire of a chivalrous adventurer.
Upon seeing the woman appear so suddenly, Fang Ren's senses immediately sharpened. His strength had improved greatly, yet he could only feel the presence of the woman after she arrived by his side.
This meant that the woman must possess at least the strength of the Peak of Azure Sky.
Liu Qianqian also sensed something unusual beside her after half a second, and turned her head around.
But upon seeing the woman in black, she immediately positioned herself in front of Fang Ren, her eyes coldly fixed on the woman, she asked, "Wu Hui, what are you doing here?"
Seeing Liu Qianqian turn around, the woman in black kneeled on one knee immediately, placing one arm in front of her chest, slightly bowing her head as she said, "Miss, there are some matters I need to discuss with you."
Fang Ren realized then that the woman in black was actually a master from the Liu Family who had been secretly protecting Liu Qianqian.
No matter what, Liu Qianqian was the young miss of the Liu Family, and with the Spirit Embryo within her, the Liu Family would naturally place great importance on her protection.
Seeing Wu Hui say this, Liu Qianqian became even less pleased, "Is there something that must be said here?"
"I just feel that it would be better to discuss these matters in front of Young Master Fang," Wu Hui said, raising her head to look at Fang Ren.
Fang Ren also caught the black-clad woman's gaze. Her eyes lacked any sparkle, and he could sense a numbness within them, along with a lazy yet raging killing intent.
Fang Ren was slightly surprised inwardly; this woman must have killed many people. He was delving deeper into the path of Asura and had grasped such low-level killing intent perfectly.
However, this woman knew his identity. If all this information hadn't come from Liu Qianqian, then the woman must have overheard some important conversation between him and Liu Qianqian at some point.
Hearing Wu Hui mention matters related to Fang Ren, Liu Qianqian became infuriated in an instant, her eyes icy as she warned, "What does he have to do with it? I've told you, don't drag him into any family matters! Otherwise, you know the consequences I mentioned before."
"Miss, you misunderstand. Before I was unaware of Young Master Fang's identity, I harbored those thoughts. Now that I know, I would not dare to even think them," Wu Hui said, still with an expressionless face.
Her expression seemed eternally flat, devoid of any emotional component – a face that belonged to someone desensitized by too much killing.
Hearing her words and seeing the numbness in her pupils, Fang Ren stopped for a moment before asking, "Did you intend to kill me before?"
Wu Hui lowered her head slightly upon hearing Fang Ren's words and replied, "Originally, the family had unanimously decided that the young miss must marry Mr. Li Zhong of the Tianjiang Fang Family, but at that time, the young miss couldn't stop thinking about you. The family was also unaware of your true identity, so they ordered me to take some extreme measures against Young Master Fang.
However, every time I tried to carry out the plan, I was stopped by risking my young miss's life, forcing me to give up every time."
Anger welled up in Fang Ren after hearing what the woman had said. If he were not Young Master Fang, perhaps he would have been killed simply because Liu Qianqian loved him.
This woman before him had at least Peak of Azure Sky strength; if such a master wanted to kill him, it would indeed be effortless, just a flick of the wrist away.
However, this anger dissipated in a few seconds, replaced by a more complex emotion.
Because he suddenly remembered that night under the teaching building, Liu Qianqian wept as she confessed everything about her past to him.
She told him that the reason she had rejected him twice despite loving him was out of fear that her family would harm him. It seemed now that Liu Qianqian was indeed always considering his well-being, even protecting him from life-threatening dangers behind his back.
The words "risking her life" to stop her, as mentioned by the woman in black, suddenly reminded Fang Ren of the knife wound on Liu Qianqian's arm she claimed was from a fall. But, even covered in bandages, Fang Ren still sensed it was a knife wound.
In an instant, Fang Ren recalled the scene from that day when he and Liu Qianqian were heading to the station, and she suddenly left the spot, telling him to take the train back to school by himself.
Was it true that on that day... Liu Qianqian had used her life as leverage to prevent this woman from acting?
At that time, Liu Qianqian didn't know his identity and only knew he was a guy with a talent for Alchemy, unaware of the powerful protector like Lin Bozhong standing behind him. Nevertheless, she had taken concrete actions.
If, just hypothetically,
He still hadn't met Mu Huanqing by now, and he was also strong enough not to make Liu Qianqian worry, then after learning the whole truth, he would have gone to any lengths for Liu Qianqian, wouldn't he...
But it couldn't be helped; life is always accompanied by many surprises and incidents. Amidst sorrow, good fortune is found, and with that fortune comes the knowledge of sadness that was just meant to protect him.
Suddenly, Fang Ren's mood grew increasingly complex, and his anger at the woman in black was instantly suppressed by this swirling mass of feelings.
"Stop talking nonsense," Liu Qianqian said coldly, looking at Wu Hui, "Just say the main point of this time, and keep the rest brief."
"Wait,"
Fang Ren momentarily pushed his complicated emotions aside and, looking at the woman in black, he asked, "Did you say Tianjiang Fang Family, Mr. Li Zhong?"
"Yes, he is the one that the Liu Family originally decided to betroth the young miss to. He is one of your cousins, your third brother," Wu Hui immediately replied.