Chapter 19

"Fine, I'll back off, but you must not harm the young lady!"

Qin Da watched as Li Qingyu's face grew increasingly pale in Alex's grip. He raised his hands and stepped back slowly, realizing they had lost the best chance to rescue her. Now, the most important thing was to ensure her safety.

Seeing Qin Da retreat, Alex exhaled quietly but did not lessen his grip on Li Qingyu. At such a close distance, a martial artist could cover the ground in just a few steps. Outnumbered, a slight mistake could spell disaster for him.

"Qingyu!"

A voice called out as Master Li entered the study, surrounded by a dozen guards. His heart ached seeing his daughter struggling to breathe.

"Brave warrior, we will not act recklessly. Please do not harm my daughter!"

Master Li gestured for Qin Da and the guards to back off, creating a safe distance for Alex.

"Master Li, it seems you are a reasonable man!"

Alex slowly released his grip on Li Qingyu's neck, though he still held her tightly with his other hand. To the dismay of the Li family, Alex kept her close, appearing almost like a couple from a distance.

"Sir, the Li family has no quarrel with you. Why did you kill my third brother and then abduct my daughter?"

Receiving a signal from Master Li, Qin Da spoke first. These were the questions they needed answers to. The Li family had been in business for years and had few enemies capable of such actions.

Moreover, this intruder had moved freely within their heavily guarded estate. If Qin Da hadn't discovered Qin San's death by chance, they might never have caught him.

Initially, they thought this person must be highly skilled. But after some probing, they found his abilities weren't as formidable as expected. This raised suspicions of an inside job.

"Haha~"

Alex sneered, "Qin San was a liar. He dared to deceive me, so he deserved to die. As for Miss Li, my brothers and I are short on money and thought of borrowing some from Master Li."

"If you're here for money, we can negotiate. Name your price, and if it's within my means, we can deal tonight."

Master Li, deeply concerned for his daughter, agreed without hesitation.

"Very well!"

Alex smiled, "But I'm dissatisfied with what just happened. I want everyone to leave for an hour so we can all cool down and negotiate properly."

"This…"

Master Li hesitated, unsure of what might happen in that hour.

"It seems you lack sincerity!"

Alex drew his knife, pressing its cold blade against Li Qingyu's white neck.

"Bastard, if you harm the young lady, you won't leave here alive tonight."

Several guards shouted, the atmosphere growing tense.

"Relax, I'm not going to kill her. But I can't guarantee other parts of her won't get hurt."

Alex moved the blade to Li Qingyu's pale cheek, slicing through the fine hairs. "I won't kill her, but if her face gets scarred, she won't be able to show herself in public."

"Stop! I agree to your terms, but you must not harm Qingyu. Otherwise, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth and make you pay."

Master Li waved his hand, signaling the guards to stand down and leave the room.

Outside the Li residence, Teng Qingshan had been monitoring the situation.

"This is…"

He noticed a large gathering of guards and overheard words like "assassin" and "miss."

"My cousin has been discovered!"

Worried for Alex, he disregarded caution and leapt over the wall into the Li residence.

In the study, Alex remained alert until he was sure everyone had left the area. Relaxing slightly, he sheathed his knife and sat with Li Qingyu by the damaged desk.

"Why is your face so red?"

Alex looked at the troublesome young lady, noticing her shy and alluring expression. Following her gaze, he realized his other hand was improperly placed.

"Ugh!"

Alex felt a surge of heat within him. The helpless girl before him was incredibly tempting.

"No, this is dangerous… I must control myself!"

Alex suppressed his urges, reminding himself of the consequences. Li Qingyu, meanwhile, cautiously opened her eyes, her face flushed from hearing Alex's internal struggle.

"Is he…?"

She began to suspect Alex might be from her world, given his strange remarks. He had been impulsive but not truly harmful.

Growing up in a peaceful world, many reincarnators were not genuinely evil. Connecting Alex's contradictory behavior, she made a judgment.

"I can't let him know my father is outside…"

Alex finally convinced himself to stay composed. He touched the back of Li Qingyu's neck.

"Mm!"

Li Qingyu felt a prickling pain and then her senses returned. The discomfort from Alex's rough handling made her body ache all over.

"Ah!"

Before she could fully recover, Alex pinched her cheeks harshly. "Miss Li, care to explain how you managed to send out a message?"

"Ouch! It hurts!"

Li Qingyu tried to ease her discomfort, looking at Alex with pitiful eyes. "Big brother, I was wrong. Please forgive me!"

"Speak up. If you don't, I'll…"

Alex pretended to be unmoved, avoiding her teary eyes to prevent feeling guilty.

"Hmph! Fine, I'll talk. Let go first!"

Regaining her strength, Li Qingyu grabbed Alex's hands to make herself more comfortable. "It's nothing special! I just dislike bird's nest soup, especially blood nest. It's bird saliva, what's so good about it?

Xiao Cui knows I don't like bird's nest soup because I've told her before…"

"Is that so?"

Alex released the girl's face, realizing that such a small detail had caused the issue. This served as a reminder to be more careful about potential messages in the future.

"Big brother, I answered your question. Can you answer one of mine?"

The "little white rabbit" spoke softly, her gentle tone raising Alex's suspicions. "Could she have figured me out?" he thought, trying to recall any possible slip-ups.

"Are you from Hangzhou?"

Her clear question startled Alex, and he shot a piercing look at the young beauty.

"You..."

Alex wanted to ask how she knew but hesitated.

"I just knew!"

Li Qingyu, emboldened, extended a delicate hand to Alex. "Let's get to know each other. My name is Chu Xin!"

"You trust me that easily?"

Alex reached out to shake hands with the excited Chu Xin. He had to admit that a young lady who had never done hard labor had remarkably soft and smooth hands.

"Not exactly! But you won't hurt me, will you?"

Chu Xin feigned a delicate appearance, looking at Alex with sparkling eyes. After a long stare, Alex remained silent, so she sighed softly, "Alright, I'll tell you the truth. After entering the Main God's Space, I gained an ability to vaguely sense good and evil."

"Sensing good and evil? An ability?"

Alex frowned, sensing the situation was more complicated than he had anticipated. He asked calmly, "Tell me about the Main God's Space."

"The Main God's Space!"

Chu Xin wrinkled her nose and thought for a moment before speaking, "The Main God's Space appeared recently, to be precise, less than five days ago."

In the present world, there was an ancient legend that the world would end during a certain day-night transition. And indeed, something happened that day. The Main God descended.

Chu Xin's entry into the Main God's Space was purely coincidental. This "academic underachiever" was forced to study by her mother that day, and at midnight, the same notification sound Alex heard with the werewolves and vampires rang out.

Chu Xin could swear that if she had another chance, she would never choose "yes" again. Because of a moment's rash decision, she, along with ninety-nine other reincarnators, were chosen as "initial participants" and entered ten reincarnation worlds.

The world of "Jiuding Ji" was Chu Xin's second reincarnation world. According to her, her first world was so uneventful and unrewarding that the Main God became furious, giving her a three-day break before throwing her into this dangerous world.

"It seems this 'Main God' is quite problematic."

Alex felt ripples in his heart as he learned more from Chu Xin. Although she didn't take it seriously, Alex gleaned a lot of information from her.

Firstly, the Main God, like Alex's system, was in a damaged state. According to Chu Xin, the exchange list only contained items that the "initial participants" obtained in the first world.

Their group collected many items, but many were taken due to insufficient Main God points and medals, appearing on the exchange list and making them curse the system for being greedy.

Additionally, aside from healing, the Main God's other functions were exorbitantly expensive, almost discouraging use, which didn't align with its "greedy" nature.

"Cousin!"

As Alex pondered, a voice interrupted.

Both Alex and Chu Xin turned to see a small figure wearing a wolf mask jump down from the roof, landing in front of them.

"Qingshan, the place is surrounded. How did you get in?"

Alex did not blame Teng Qingshan for disregarding his warning. His willingness to come and help despite the risk showed his genuine loyalty.

"Their people are incompetent."

Teng Qingshan said casually. As a top assassin in his previous life, he had the right to say so.

"Can you get her out?"

Alex pointed to the bewildered Chu Xin. She was his "spoils of war," and without reaching an agreement, he couldn't let her go. Negotiating in her territory was like delivering himself on a platter.

"You"

Chu Xin started to speak, but Alex's hand swiftly pressed a point on her neck, rendering her speechless and immobile.

Teng Qingshan looked at Chu Xin and shook his head. "She's too conspicuous and won't cooperate. We can't fool the many experts outside."

Alex asked, "What if most of those experts were drawn away?"

Teng Qingshan replied, "If most of them are distracted elsewhere, it should be manageable. But why insist on taking her? Qin San is already dead."

Alex explained, "Qin San is dead, but I was almost caught by Qin Da when I was about to leave. If we don't create a bigger distraction, they'll trace it back to us."

This was Alex's true concern and why he didn't retreat immediately after killing Qin San.

With Qin San's death, Qin Da and Qin Er would certainly investigate those who had conflicts with Qin San, and Tengjia Village wouldn't escape their notice.

If they adopted a "better safe than sorry" approach, it could spell disaster for Tengjia Village.

Alex couldn't risk Tengjia Village facing a catastrophe due to his actions. Thus, he devised a plan to divert attention after killing Qin San.

His original plan was to stage Qin San's death as a suicide, exposing the corrupt practices of the Li family's guards. This would anger Master Li, leading to an internal purge, distracting them from Qin San's actual death.

However, Qin Da's sudden visit thwarted his plan. To shift attention, Alex had to improvise, causing a bigger commotion by taking Chu Xin (Li Qingyu).

By doing so, the Li family would be in turmoil. Compared to the young lady's safety, Qin San's death would become insignificant.