Looking around, Shui Miao subtly channeled a small amount of his seven-element immortal energy into a rectangular trash can in the hallway. Suddenly, his thoughts darkened, and the trash can instantly transformed into a mass of black mist!
“Hiss!”
With a shift in his mind, the black mist withdrew.
Witnessing this, Old Master Lin and his men assumed this was a warning from Shui Miao and were left gaping in terror.
“The Soul Devouring Force!”
Shui Miao himself was equally shocked and surprised.
His seven-element immortal energy, when channeled, had actually transformed into the terrifying Soul Devouring Force!?
Shui Miao drew the energy back into his body. He felt no change in his overall energy, though he sensed his metal-element energy had slightly increased. However, he felt a strange emotion stirring inside—neither excitement nor sadness, but more like a sudden unfamiliarity with himself, as if he had discovered a truth he couldn’t quite grasp.
Didn’t expect myself to be this powerful!?
To master the Soul Devouring Force so easily!
If that’s the case, I must be a supernatural being now—capable of even making an entire building vanish!
Lost in complex thoughts about the Soul Devouring Force, Shui Miao walked down the corridor.
Just as he reached the corner, Da Shuang and Lin Qing’er suddenly appeared, bumping into him.
“Shui Miao, it’s bad! Those assassins are chasing us, but they just caught fire…”
“Shui Miao, was that you?”
Both Lin Qing’er and Da Shuang looked flustered.
Instinctively, Shui Miao nodded. “It’s okay, they’re already injured and won’t be a threat to you anymore.”
“Ah! So it really was you who set them on fire?” Da Shuang exclaimed in disbelief.
Previously, Da Shuang had thought Shui Miao was just a fraud, but now she was slowly beginning to believe he was a cultivator in the modern world.
“That’s not important anymore,” Shui Miao replied, his expression unchanged as he turned to Lin Qing’er. “Lin Jie, I’d like to talk to you, but maybe this isn’t the best place.”
“Okay, let’s go to the Linhai Hotel.”
Lin Qing’er had wanted to go back there for a while, but then she added, “Wait, maybe not the Linhai Hotel. I’d prefer to visit your Chen Group headquarters instead.”
“Welcome!”
Shui Miao smiled slightly, then raised his hand toward Da Shuang, revealing a small black orb in his palm. “Oh, Lin Jie, please take this first. It’s the Yin Holy Spirit—it will greatly benefit your soul.”
“Alright!”
Lin Qing’er, fully trusting Shui Miao, took the Yin Holy Spirit, gave it a quick glance, and swallowed it in one gulp. “Wow, it feels amazing! This treasure makes me feel so refreshed!”
Lin Qing’er was ecstatic. She could feel her body suddenly becoming purified, her energy surging.
“Shui Miao, you’re so unfair! Why didn’t you give me one?” Da Shuang pouted.
Shui Miao shook his head gently. “You dare to say that? I secretly put one in your coffee, but you didn’t even drink it. Can I be blamed for that?”
“But you didn’t tell me what it was back then!” Da Shuang became flustered.
Shui Miao raised his hand again, offering Da Shuang another Yin Holy Spirit. “You thought I was a fraud back then. If I had told you, would you have believed me?”
“Of course I would have! Why wouldn’t I!”
Da Shuang, clearly not meaning her words, swallowed the Yin Holy Spirit in one go. Her expression was so elated, it seemed as if she might float away.
“Alright, let’s go. Oh, and Lin Jie, call your father and tell him to stay at the Linhai Hotel. The surveillance there is excellent and can provide early warnings. I suspect other assassin groups might still target him.” As Shui Miao turned the corner, he saw the group of assassins sitting on the ground, wailing in pain. Their clothes had burned off, and scattered around them were handguns and knives. Nurses inside the hospital room were anxiously calling the police.
Seeing their severe injuries, Shui Miao felt a pang of sympathy.
But remembering they were killers, and how they had nearly run him and Lin Qing’er over at the hospital entrance, he dismissed the urge to help them.
※※※
On the way, Da Shuang drove directly to the headquarters of the Chen Group.
Lin Qing’er and Shui Miao sat in the back seat, silent.
Suddenly, Lin Qing’er whispered, “Xiao Shui, do you remember what you said to me the last time we went to the airport?”
“Of course I remember…”
Shui Miao looked at Lin Qing’er and took her hand, but felt an odd emptiness inside. He couldn’t explain why he suddenly felt this way. There was no desperate longing for her, no feeling of being incomplete without her, nor was there the joy and sweetness of being with someone he loved. Just a calmness, and an emptiness.
Perhaps it wasn’t the right word to describe it as emptiness, but Shui Miao couldn’t think of any other word.
“But I know it’s impossible. Still, thank you…” Lin Qing’er’s voice was filled with sadness, as if trying to hide something. “Shui Miao, thank you for giving me hope. Can we just be siblings?”
Lin Qing’er tried to pull her hand away.
Looking at Lin Qing’er with her head bowed and tears falling, Shui Miao felt a sudden ache in his heart.
He turned to face her fully, holding both her hands. “You know, you’ve just helped me understand that feeling I had earlier…”
“What feeling? What feeling?”
Lin Qing’er tried hard to hold back her tears, but they stubbornly flowed down, one drop after another, landing on Shui Miao’s hands.
Shui Miao took a deep breath. “It’s sorrow, a sorrow that comes from love. Love should bring happiness and sweetness, but we’ve experienced too much sorrow. I think we’ve had enough sorrow already. It’s time to leave it behind. So, I love you. Will you marry me?”
Moved by the shift in his heart, Shui Miao proposed.
Hearing this, Lin Qing’er shook her head, crying sadly. “No, I’m not right for you. I’m sick, I’m dying. I can’t bring you happiness. And you’re so good—I’m not worthy of you…”
“No!” Shui Miao interrupted. “It’s I who am not worthy of you, but I will strive to make up for it. Also, it’s your soul I love, not your body. Do you understand?”
Lin Qing’er shook her head again. “Shui Miao, why are you being so good to me? I’m not worth it…”
“No!” Shui Miao interrupted once more. “In my heart, you will always be worthy. Enough of this sadness. Let me heal your illness first.”
Without hesitation, Shui Miao channeled a stream of water-element immortal energy into Lin Qing’er’s body, cleansing and rejuvenating her.
Upon hearing this, Da Shuang slowly pulled the car into the parking lot and came to a stop.
Water is the source of life, and water-element immortal energy is the best for healing the body.
Feeling a soothing current suddenly flowing through her body, Lin Qing’er gradually felt as if she were soaking in a warm spring, more and more comfortable. Overwhelmed with joy and surprise, she gazed at Shui Miao’s determined eyes and tears flowed again… but this time, they were tears of happiness, tears of sweetness!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage