Chapter 139: Is That You?

Late at night, it started to rain.

In Tianfu, fog is common, and so is rain. It rains about thirty days a year on average. It was now late autumn, and with the arrival of this rain, the chill was palpable. The downpour made the guards on duty at the Liu residence grumble incessantly. A sense of gloom settled over them, as they recalled that it also rained on the nights when previous family heads were assassinated after taking office.

In the heavily monitored pond of the Liu residence, a shadow moved through the water faster than a fish, heading towards the shore. The rainwater created puddles on the ground, allowing this figure to merge with the water and move stealthily across the Liu residence grounds. The dense raindrops splashing on the ground covered the figure's advance, while the guards kept wiping rainwater from their faces.

The figure quickly reached the brightly lit main hall of the Liu residence. Looking at the illuminated hall, an ice shard formed above the water shadow and shot towards the main door of the hall.

Bang!

"Assassin!!!"

The elderly Liu patriarch yelled in terror, "Catch the assassin!"

The Liu residence descended into chaos. Countless guards rushed towards the main hall, surrounding it and searching for the assassin. Finally, someone noticed an irregular puddle on the ground. "The assassin is there!"

Following this shout, the water shadow fled swiftly. The guards, shocked, immediately opened fire, but the bullets missed the fast-moving shadow.

At that moment, Li Nianlong rushed out of the main hall, chasing the water shadow. Seeing their master pursue the assassin personally, all the guards shouted and followed him. When they reached the pond, the shadow dove into the water. Realizing he couldn't catch up, Li Nianlong drew his Meteor Chasing Bow and used a powerful skill, "Meteor Chasing the Moon!"

With a twang, the energy arrow hit the shadow just as it entered the water. An explosion followed, and blood surfaced in the water. Li Nianlong's spirits lifted as he instructed the guards, "Protect the patriarch and my cousin. Leave the assassin to me!"

After speaking, Li Nianlong put away his bow and leaped into the water. With his fisherman's 50% underwater speed boost, he quickly pursued the blood trail.

Meanwhile, the elderly patriarch and Shao Meiyun came out, and the patriarch shouted, "Where's Menglong?!"

A guard immediately reported, "The master injured the assassin with his bow and is pursuing them alone. Before leaving, he instructed us to protect the patriarch and Miss Shao."

"Did Menglong injure the assassin?" The patriarch and Shao Meiyun were overjoyed. Shao Meiyun giggled, "Grandpa, I told you Menglong is amazing. Do you believe it now?"

The patriarch laughed heartily, "Amazing indeed. He truly is my grandson, Liu Tianming's grandson. A mere assassin is no match for him." He wiped the rain from his face and said, "Since Menglong is confident in pursuing the assassin, let's go inside, take a bath, and wait for his triumphant return."

Shao Meiyun laughed, "Alright! I'm soaked through and feeling chilled."

"Haha, we don't want to catch a cold. Quickly, have the kitchen prepare some ginger soup!"

The tense atmosphere in the Liu residence turned to one of cheer. Meanwhile, after diving into the water, Li Nianlong, an excellent swimmer, moved through the water at unprecedented speed.

With his continuously improving attributes, Li Nianlong's senses had evolved beyond those of ordinary people. Even underwater, he could clearly smell the blood. However, despite his speed, which surpassed many fish, he couldn't catch up to the bleeding shadow.

Li Nianlong quickly bought an underwater thruster from the store, strapped it on, and turned it on. The thruster roared to life, propelling him forward at high speed.

With the thruster's help, Li Nianlong's pursuit speed increased, and he closed the distance with the shadow. The shadow seemed to notice the unusual speed behind it and accelerated. But it couldn't outpace the thruster. Within seconds, Li Nianlong was only ten meters away from the shadow.

Feeling his breath running out, Li Nianlong prepared to surface. He drew his Meteor Chasing Bow again, aimed at the shadow, and was about to use "Meteor Chasing the Moon" when he heard a soft voice, "Big brother, stop."

Li Nianlong hesitated and saw the shadow gradually clear up, revealing a familiar figure.

A kilometer away from the Liu residence, on the bank of the river connected to the Liu residence pond, two figures emerged from the water—a man and a woman. The man was tall and strong, while the woman was petite, clutching her bleeding arm.

The man was Li Nianlong, and the woman…

"Changchang, are you alright?" Li Nianlong carried Yue Chang to the shore. Seeing the wound on her arm, he was distressed and immediately fed her a hemostatic pill. Yue Chang didn't struggle or resist, letting him put the pill into her mouth, a soft smile on her face. "Big brother, you've become so strong! Really strong!"

"Stop with the sweet talk." Li Nianlong flicked her forehead lightly. "This is reckless. And why are you here? Where is Xixi?"

After taking the system-produced hemostatic pill, Yue Chang's bleeding stopped, and her wound began to heal rapidly. Soon, the wound itched and then scabbed over, revealing smooth skin without a scar.

The miraculous effect astonished Yue Chang, who looked at Li Nianlong in surprise. "Big brother, your medicine is amazing. Where did you get it?"

"Answer my question first." Li Nianlong flicked her forehead again.

Yue Chang stuck out her tongue and smiled softly. "I saw the news at noon and learned that big brother had become the head of the Liu family, so I flew over. As for Xixi... she's better at attacking than hiding, so she stayed behind. I booked a flight for 4:30 AM and planned to return to Longcheng overnight."

"I see." Li Nianlong understood, then frowned and flicked her forehead again. "Why did you try to assassinate me?"

"Ouch!" Yue Chang held her forehead, softly complaining, "Big brother, it hurts."

"Don't play coy with me," Li Nianlong glared at her. "Knowing I'm the head of the Liu family, why did you attempt to assassinate me? Who sent you?"

"Hehe…" Yue Chang stuck out her tongue again. "No one sent me. I came on my own."

Li Nianlong raised an eyebrow. "What's your game?"

"No game at all, just trying to help you establish authority," Yue Chang replied with a soft smile.

"Establish authority?" Li Nianlong pondered for a moment, then realized. His gaze softened, but he still scolded, "You silly girl, you didn't warn me. If I had released that arrow, you'd be in real danger."

"If I had warned you, big brother, how would you have felt the urgency?" Yue Chang smiled softly. "Now the effect is great. I'll fake my death, and you can quickly establish authority and take control of the Liu family."

"You silly girl…" Li Nianlong hugged her, his chin gently resting on her forehead.

Yue Chang closed her eyes and smiled, feeling warm despite being drenched.

After a long while, Li Nianlong patted her shoulder. "Silly girl, I took over the Liu family to help them out of their predicament. I don't care about the position of family head. Besides, Grandpa and Cousin Meiyun are very supportive. They are willing to help me control the Liu family. Establishing authority isn't necessary. You should have discussed this with me first. Now you're hurt, and I lost a precious elixir."

"Ah...?" Yue Chang cried out in frustration, "So my effort was in vain?"

Li Nianlong rubbed her head and smiled. "Not entirely. At least you've made me like you more. Keep it up, and you'll soon win me over."

Yue Chang blushed and smiled softly, "No way! Both Ruyue and Xixi like you. If I join in, there will be nothing left for me."

"Nothing left? What do you mean?" Li Nianlong frowned.

"Big brother, haven't you heard the saying about three monks?" Yue Chang extended a finger. "One monk fetches water to drink." She extended two fingers. "Two monks carry water to drink." She extended three fingers. "Three monks have no water to drink."

With a soft smile, she added, "So I won't join in."

"..." Li Nianlong looked at her, speechless. "What nonsense are you talking about? You young girls, your heads are full of strange ideas."

"Hehe…" Yue Chang stuck out her tongue again, feeling uncomfortable in her wet clothes. "Big brother, can you let go of me? My clothes are too wet, it's uncomfortable."