(XIV)

Translator: StaringAtAStar

Yue Xuan was brought back to the isolation chamber, Madam Chang immediately threw herself beside him, held his face, and tensely asked, "Little Xuan, how are you?"

Yue Xuan looked at Madam Chang with a wooden expression, not saying a word.

Tears flowed from Madam Chang's eyes as she said with a tremor in her voice, "They really operated on you? Little Xuan, please tell mother it's not true?"

Yue Xuan still didn't say a word. His eyes were lifelessly still; like a stagnant pool of water, they held no sense of vitality.

Madam Chang's heart ached endlessly at the sight, and she screamed like a mad woman to those outside, "Lu Xiufan, you've selfishly acted without authority; Yue Family and Chang Family will absolutely seek justice from you!"

Lu Xiufan stood outside the chamber coldly looking at her, his face devoid of any expression.

At that moment, his communication device suddenly rang, the caller seemed to be one of the bodyguards he'd hired for Shang Ke.

After Lu Xiufan answered, he only listened to a couple of words before his expression became especially terrifying. He immediately turned, collecting his guards while emitting an immense killing intent.

While under his protection, Shang Ke had actually encountered such danger! Lu Xiufan's body tensed, like a hungry animal preparing to bite someone. The surrounding guards were so frightened they didn't even dare to breathe.

Lu Xiufan jumped into a hover car, and upon searching for Shang Ke's geolocation, discovering that he'd already driven at high speed towards the outskirts of the city; this speed clearly already exceeded a normal driver's abilities; a normal person at such speeds would not even be able to endure for a couple hours.

Lu Xiufan's face grew increasingly dark as he quickly flew towards Shang Ke's location with his guards.

Though he was driving as fast as he could, it would still took him an hour to catch up.

Ahead of him, Shang Ke's hover car flew over the surface of the lake in a Z-shape; the car steadily remained three to five meters above the lake. The water in the lake was criss crossed with waves from the speeding car, with a man floating in the center. Lu Xiufan quickly pulled close without any doubt that it was Shang Ke.

However, the fact that a man had been able to escape the car indicated that Shang Ke had already thought of a way to rescue himself.

Lu Xiufan delivered the man from the middle of the lake to the guards, then focused all of his attention on Shang Ke and the hover car he was driving.

At this point, Shang Ke was so dizzy from motion-sickness he didn't notice Lu Xiufan's arrival; he could only concentrate on setting the flight trajectory over the lake. He looked all over for a patch of empty space, where he wouldn't have to worry about running into any obstacles.

He'd originally planned to evacuate the car; however, since Yurian had completely passed out in the back seat, if he evacuated, Yurian would die for sure. Blood seeped out from Shang Ke's orifices and a splitting headache hammered his mind, he simply could not calm down his mind to properly think.

"Little Ze, jump!" Just then, he heard a familiar voice yelling in the distance.

Shang Ke's spirit was shaken awake, and he saw through a mist of blood the blurry outlines of cars.

Lu Xiufan was here!

"Little Ze, hurry, jump!" Lu Xiufan could clearly see Shang Ke sitting in the driver's seat through his remote monitoring system. A few lines of blood stood out shockingly on Shang Ke's ashen face, his eyes were bloodshot, like bloodstained gems; beads of sweat mixed with blood, smudging the edges of his vision with a bloody fog. Seeing such a desperate and demonic appearance, Lu Xiufan's heart ached with the desire to rush up and rescue him.

Lu Xiufan had people lay out a sheet of magnetic netting on the surface of the lake; so long as Shang Ke jumped from the car, even the most severe impact would be minimized. However, Shang Ke still wouldn't jump from the car, Lu Xiufan was so worried he couldn't help but yell.

Shang Ke turned his head to give the back seat a glance, it was only then that Lu Xiufan noticed that there was still someone in the backseat. That person's body was collapsed askew and motionless; he'd clearly lost consciousness.

Lu Xiufan yelled again, "Little Ze, don't bother with him, jump from the car!" This time in a commanding tone, under the impression that Shang Ke would naturally follow his orders. Who would have known that Shang Ke made no motion to obey, and instead continued to pilot the hover car as it flew through the air.

"How dare you! Little Ze jump from the car, jump from the car now!" The veins in Lu Xiufan's forehead bulged, and his fists were poised to smash the surveillance monitors.

This was the first time Shang Ke disobeyed him, merely for the sake of an insignificant person. Lu Xiufan had always believed that covenantors didn't really lack all emotions, a speculation confirmed by this scene he's witnessing. However, now he wished that his speculations were wrong.

The covenantors' perseverance was always strong-willed, once they set their mind to something, they never waver in their decision. Even if it cost them their lives, they would pay; in other words, they did not recognize the value of their own lives.

Shang Ke's mind was becoming muddled, and his body was becoming numb. If he died now, he would have still completed the main task; but Lu Xiufan's voice ringing loudly in his ear made him want to continue living.

Shang Ke forcefully pulled himself together, waking his mind so it could function once more.

On the surface of the lake laid the magnetic netting Lu Xiufan had arranged; Shang Ke didn't need to consider the height of the drop or the force of the impact, if he just jumped within range of the magnetic netting, he would have an eighty percent chance of being rescued.

There was still a chance! Shang Ke's eyes spang open, He accelerate the hover car in a straight shot, rapidly leaving the area surrounding the lake until he became a black speck in the horizon.

Lu Xiufan had no idea Shang Ke would suddenly drive the car so far away; immediately anxious, he gave chase in his own car.

However, he'd only driven a couple hundred meters before he saw Shang Ke's car flying towards him from afar; he was flying back.

Upon seeing this Lu Xiufan stopped his car, and staring intently, discovered that the driver's seat was suddenly empty. Shang Ke at some unknown point, had crawled into the back seat, and with one hand holding the unconscious covenantor and the other gasping the car door, was looking straight out of the car.

At the hover car's speed, he only had two seconds to jump out of the car, and he had to correctly assess the timing. Otherwise, if he jumped outside of the net's protection, he would need the luck of a cat with nine lives to survive.

Shang Ke's concentration became highly focused, his mind quietly calculating the time and distance.

1, 2, 3… Now!

Shang Ke held Yurian, briskly hit open the car door, and jumped out of the car.

Their bodies quickly fell and he felt a surge of energy flow from his body. Upon hitting the surface of the water, their bodies bounced up a couple meters before falling once more, falling into the water with a "thunk".

Shang Ke was completely encased by icy lake water, which washed away the blood on his face and numbed all his pain.

When Lu Xiufan found him under the water, Shang Ke had already lost consciousness, but his hands still tightly held Yurian.

Lu Xiufan separated the two, allowing the guards to rescue Yurian, he then grabbed Shang Ke and swiftly surfaced.

At this point, Shang Ke's breathing was already shallow, his face was deathly pale, and his lips were blue with cold.

Lu Xiufan's face was expressionless, but his slightly trembling arms revealed his inner anxiety.

Ambulances quickly arrived, and emergency care was immediately administered on the three people. Jill, who first jumped from the car, had the lightest injuries, but Shang Ke and Yurian's conditions were truly not hopeful. Especially Shang Ke, whose strength had been exhausted to its limit, and his mind had been taxed to the extreme; his heart and lungs had all suffered serious damage.

Any normal person under these circumstances would have had no chance of surviving. This was probably the first instance of a system going out of control and causing such a fatal car accident. Even though the car had rather perfect safety measures, at such high speeds without protective gear, no matter how strong the body is, death was the only outcome.

While avoiding the car crash, there was the danger of high blood pressure, blurred vision, inability to think straight, and even shock-induced coma. At this point, there was little chance of keeping calm, much less staying alive.

Watching Shang Ke's escape through the monitor, anyone would be amazed. Under these circumstances, he not only held onto his own life, but managed to save two other people. Especially during that last jump, he looked as emotionless as usual, making accurate assessments, calmly calculating round-trip distances and jumping timing, all while his consciousness was on the verge of collapse. If the round-trip distance was too short, the car might fly right past the lake upon its return; if the distance was too far, he might not be able to hang onto consciousness until the jump.

Of course, if he had originally just given up on Yurian, he would have long been rescued, and would likely not have been injured to such a severe extent.

In the hospital, Lu Xiufan sat by the hospital bed, quietly gazing at Shang Ke's sleeping expression. Before the surgery, while Shang Ke hovered between life and death, Lu Xiufan was also suffering in the midst of fear. This type of feeling seemed to have occurred before. As if there was a brand in the depths of his soul gradually burning, making him suffer so much he would forget who he was.

He kept feeling as if this wasn't the first time he'd felt the fear of possibly losing someone at any moment.

Lu Xiufan held Shang Ke's hand, feeling for his beating pulse to confirm that he was still alive. Only then could his heart steady itself, though the aftertaste of fear lingered in his heart.

"Knock knock," a string of light knocks sounded.

"What's the matter?" Lu XIufan asked without turning his head.

"Her Majesty the Queen invites you to the palace."

"Tell her Majesty that I am unwell, and will have to wait a few days before paying her my respects," Lu Xiufan coldly replied.

He knew why the Queen summoned him; it was regarding the imprisonment of Madam Chang and her son. Even if Yue Family didn't care, Chang Family would have reported it. Even though Chang Family wasn't a major family, they were a military force to be reckoned with.

A sharp light flashed through his eyes. The attempt murder on Shang Ke this time, if it wasn't one of his enemies, then it most likely had something to do with the Chang Family.

[Congratulations to host for completing the Main Mission— Become the Yue Family Heir again. The reward is five years of detain time.]

[An Additional Mission has been activated—Establish a method for protecting coventators. The additional mission was activated in advance by the host. If completed, a special reward item will be given.]

A special reward?

Shang Ke awoke from his lethargic sleep, his mind was still slightly befuddled.

"Little Ze?" A large hand gently stroked the hair on his forehead aside. The voice by his ear was low and hoarse, as if it hadn't spoken for a long time.

Shang Ke looked around, the first thing he saw was a stubble-covered chin.

Lu Xiufan's current image was really… rather manly.

"How do you feel? Are you feeling pain anywhere?" Lu Xiufan asked while pressing the call button.

The doctor rushed over and examined Shang Ke. Throughout the examination, Lu Xiufan grimly watched, ready to strike the doctor on his head if anything seemed even a little off.

Fortunately, the doctor was exceptionally skilled and smoothly complete the examination. He confirmed that there wasn't any major problems and finally escaping Lu Xiufan's murderous gaze.

Lu Xiufan poured some water for Shang Ke to rinse his mouth, then sent his subordinates out to bring back some food.

After completing all this, he didn't say a word, just sat at the bedside, silently looking at Shang Ke.

The hospital room was quiet as the two people looked at each other, like they were in the middle of a telepathic exchange.

After a moment, Shang Ke started first, "Is there a mirror?"

Lu Xiufan opened a drawer and withdrew a small mirror he handed to Shang Ke. "You're still very handsome, don't worry."

Of course he wasn't worried, with the Perfect Expression Pack, even if he punched himself in the face, he'd still appear as if he'd received a "air fist" effect. The person he wanted to reflected was Lu Xiufan.

Shang Ke aimed the mirror at Lu Xiufan, "Sir, your appearance is currently a mess, unworthy of your status. Do you need me to help you tidy up?"

Can the person who is lying on the hospital bed not be so worried about other things?

Lu Xiufan tossed the mirror back into the drawer before calmly going to the bathroom to freshen up.

A quick smile flashed across Shang Ke's eyes as he watched Lu Xiufan's retreating back.