The fluorescent pigment continued extending into the canyon, and several people stopped in front of it.
The cold wind blowing out from the canyon was bone-piercing, striking the face like needle pricks, painfully severe.
In the pitch-black night, icicles hung on both sides of the canyon. The end of the road was unseen. Mist billowed around, like a beast opening its mouth to devour human desire, leaving people unable to move.
“Li Li definitely wouldn’t go into the canyon for no reason. No matter how lost, she couldn’t be this lost.” Xia Chen looked inside.
People all have the instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm. At a glance, this place is clearly one that eats people without spitting out their bones.
No matter how foolish Li Li might be, she could not possibly be this foolish.
“From the footprints, there are at least a dozen people.” Fei Ran squatted on the ground, staring at the smallest footprint in the middle.
From this, it seems certain that Li Li was taken away by someone.
Moreover, she was being held hostage.
“Get ready, go into the mountain.”
Xia Chen took a high-powered flashlight from his backpack, though the moon overhead—appearing at some unknown moment—had already illuminated the entire area as if it were daytime.
One must always keep a hand in reserve.
The people they brought were split off to escort Yun Sheng and Li Ruobing back, and three groups were sent out to search. Now, only Xia Chen and Fei Ran remained at Wen Li and Fu Yuxiu’s side.
Wen Li lowered her head to look at the map she had just received, wondering whether it was the Mo family or the Li family who had taken Li Li away.
Since they were looking for something, why would they need to take Li Li into the mountains by force?
Li Li and the thing they’re searching for surely cannot have any other connection.
“Must we go into the mountain?” Fu Yuxiu stepped forward, lowering his gaze at the girl studying the map.
Wen Li stretched the map in her hand toward the light, only lowering it once she had seen clearly.
“Keep your promises. What you’ve agreed to must always be done.” Wen Li spoke.
Listening to her words, Fu Yuxiu raised his hand and seized her wrist.
A pair of eyes fixed on her without letting go, gazing deeply at Wen Li. “Are you hiding something from me?”
A very serious tone.
At the side, Feiran and Xia Chen instinctively shifted their positions. It was the first time they had heard the young master speak to Miss Wen Li in such a serious tone.
At a time like this, it’s best that they don’t step forward to join the commotion.
Wen Li lifted her head, stared at him for a long moment, then spoke: “Which matter are you referring to?”
The man suddenly let out a laugh of anger. This little one carried too many secrets, layer upon layer, always catching people off guard.
Fu Yuxiu had also thought about it: in the fifteen years he missed, she must have gone through many things, endured much hardship, to reach where she was today.
He was also willing to give her space, letting her do as she pleased within the boundaries he set.
But when things went beyond expectations, he truly could not bear it.
“I had originally planned to go into the Northern Mountain to gather herbs. It’s just a bit earlier than expected, and bringing someone back along the way isn’t bad either.”
These words were, after all, somewhat evasive—skirting the important and dwelling on the trivial.
Fu Yuxiu released her wrist, and without a word, walked forward.
The atmosphere in the air felt somewhat off, and Xia Chen and Fei Ran exchanged a glance.
What, is this being angry?
This was the young master’s first time getting angry—Miss Wen truly had quite the ability.
Wen Li looked somewhat dazed at the man turning away, then glanced at the two beside her.
So does this count as a quarrel?
When entering the mountain, Fei Ran and Xia Chen wisely walked at a distance from the two of them.
The situation was strange: Fu Yuxiu walked alone in front, with Wen Li following within five meters behind him.
This was the first time Miss Wen Li walked at such a distance from the young master; before, it had always been holding, embracing, or clinging.
As long as they could be together, the young master would never allow Miss Wen Li to be more than one meter away from him.
This was truly being angry.
“What happened? I didn’t hear anything.” Xia Chen crept over and whispered into Fei Ran’s ear.
Fei Ran glanced at the two and whispered, “We’d better stay away from them, otherwise we’ll be the ones to suffer.”
Moreover, when the young master gets angry, he can really be fierce.
Actually, this isn’t very hard to understand. With Miss Wen Li’s cold temperament, having only met Li Li a few times, it wouldn’t be enough for her to risk herself to save someone.
Between the two, there was clearly a vague, ambiguous relationship. From a man’s psychology, he naturally hoped his girlfriend would keep nothing from him.
Even at this critical juncture, Miss Wen Li’s cold temperament kept her silent on what should have been said.
The young master was not merely angry.
On both sides of the mountain gorge were sheer cliffs. Because of the constant cold, the mountain faces were covered with thick frost, and the deeper they went, the more severe the bone‑piercing chill became.
Outside the gorge, only a few scattered flakes of snow had fallen. But after walking about two kilometers inside, the sky began to release a flurry of heavy snow.
The falling snowflakes were like torn bits of paper, dazzling to the eyes.
Wen Li glanced at the distant white peaks, then turned to give instructions to the two.
“Put the gun away.”
In this terrain, the sound of heavy weapons could very likely trigger an avalanche—this is no joke.
“Yes.”
Xia Chen swiftly removed the magazine from the gun, but just as he was about to press the wristband, he stopped.
He glanced at Fei ran beside him and obediently slung the gun over his back.
They held the daggers they carried in their hands and followed the footprints left on the ground.
“Ha ha ha!!!”
A shrill burst of laughter rang through the valley, echoing in the empty gorge.
On such a night, it sounded like the voice of a ghost.
“Originally I had little hope for this deal with the Mo family, but I never expected to catch two such big fish—the distinguished second young master of the Fu family, and the famous hacker IO, pharmacist Li. This trip truly wasn’t in vain!”
From both sides of the cliffs, people dressed in white gradually descended.
Such colors allowed them to blend more seamlessly with the snow, serving as protection.
Wen Li lifted her gaze to the front. A man in a black padded coat stepped out—tall, appearing to be in his forties.
The look he cast upon them was somewhat off.
“The underworld has placed a four‑hundred‑million bounty on hacker IO’s head. This is money delivered to my door—I can’t refuse it.”
As the man spoke, he looked at Wen Li, his gaze growing more brazen.
In this world, anything can be studied—especially the increasingly rampant progress of dark human experiments.
The underworld has classified all the top brilliant minds across the continent, except for the brain of the Dark Palace’s master.
It is none other than the famous hacker IO. Next comes Pharmacist Li, with a bounty also set at four hundred million.
For someone that clever, naturally the brain is all the more valuable.
“Never thought hacker IO and Pharmacist Li would turn out to be the same person—quite surprising.” As the man spoke, he shifted the jade thumb ring on his finger.
Xia Chen stepped forward, blocking in front of Wen Li.
They dared not use guns, and likewise these people also dared not use guns.
On both sides of the gorge, heavy snow lay upon the mountains. If the wrong point were touched, an avalanche would fall, and everyone would die here.
“Who are you?” Fei ran asked, looking at the man ahead.
“Who I am doesn’t matter at all. Heaven has a road, yet you refuse to walk it; hell has no gate, yet you throw yourselves in. Had you not stepped inside, you would not face death.”
Wen Li looked at the man and let out a soft laugh. “Purgatory went to such great lengths to bring people to North Mountain—what exactly are you searching for?”
The man froze for a moment and did not answer her question.
“Rather than saying you want my head, it’s more accurate to say you’re trying to stop us from entering the mountain, isn’t it?”
The man, his true thoughts exposed, grew furious with shame, yet stubbornly refused to admit it.
North Mountain is vast; even if they were let in, they might not find anything. Yet the ones who came happen to be IO, and members of the Fu family.
With their skills, tracking down the people inside would be as easy as turning the palm.
Since the mission has been issued, under no circumstances can these people be allowed to pass through the gorge alive and enter North Mountain.
“Do it!”
All around, men clutching daggers swarmed forward; avoiding the use of guns was one thing, yet these men also carried bows and crossbows.
Fei Ran and Xia Chen bore the brunt at the front; to be Fu Yuxiu’s right‑hand men, their skills were naturally not lacking.
Yet two fists cannot match four hands; the one who evaded Xia Chen’s strike smiled and reached towards Wen Li.
She stood still, unmoving, and watched as the figure before her was kicked ten meters away, crashing against the ice behind.
“Puh…”
A mouthful of blood spewed forth, and the man closed his eyes, losing consciousness.
The man who had kicked the foe walked over, brushed the snow from his clothes, and shielded the person behind him.
In those long, phoenix‑shaped eyes, a sharp light suddenly flashed, carrying a surge of icy aura—colder than the surrounding glaciers, enough to make one tremble.
“Bang!"
From all directions, people closed in, gathering together, their daggers gleaming faintly with cold light.
Fu Yuxiu raised his hand, pulled Wen Li toward him, and immediately seized the approaching man’s wrist.
There was a sharp crack; bones shattered, and the man’s scream echoed through the valley.
The man in his grasp was hurled out, striking precisely the two who were charging in.
Wen Li stood still, watching the man who shielded her flawlessly, and couldn’t help but laugh aloud.
Clearly, he was already so angry as he strode forward—couldn’t he, like the men in TV dramas, wait until she was truly in danger before making a move?
At the very least, he could win himself the reputation of a hero saving the beauty.
Fu Yuxiu, his face stern, deftly seized the advancing man’s wrist and stomped hard upon his knee joint.
The sound of bones breaking and cries of pain rose in response.
Even though they outnumbered him by dozens of times, in just five minutes they were completely defeated.
After releasing the man in his grasp, he finally took a handkerchief from his pocket and leisurely wiped himself clean.
The man with the thumb ring, who had just been so arrogant, shrank back a step in fear and turned to flee.
Xia Chen stepped forward, yanked the man back, and drove a fist into him.
“Don’t hit, don’t hit! I’ll tell you everything!!” The man covered his face, begging for mercy.
Fei Ran went over, pulled his hand away, and stared at him bluntly: “If you don’t confess honestly, I’ll kill you.”
After discarding the handkerchief, Fu Yuxiu lit a mint‑flavored cigarette and leaned against the rock wall behind him.
A cold appearance, as if warning strangers not to approach.
Wen Li stepped forward, stood before him, and gently tugged at his lowered wrist.
Her fingertips hooked lightly at him.
“Are you really angry?”
The man exhaled a puff of smoke, his cold eyes swept over her, and he said nothing.
“Otherwise, how about I coax you?” Wen Li thought.
Some time ago, Su Jingjing had shown her a video on how to coax an angry boyfriend.
The boy in the clip was the sweetest, baby‑like kind; a little face rub and he’d light up instantly.
She just wasn’t sure if this method would work on this man.
Thinking this, Wen Li rose on tiptoe and tugged outward at both sides of the man’s cheeks.
She lifted her gaze, eyes utterly sincere: “Not angry anymore?”
The lit cigarette in Fu Yuxiu’s hand fell to the ground and was extinguished the instant it touched the ice.
“You’re counting on the fact that I’ll never be mad at you.”
He raised his hand and pressed her tightly into his embrace.
That warm breath and faint scent of tobacco enveloped Wen Li, making her inexplicably feel at ease.
“You’ll have to coax me more in the future,” he murmured, buried against the girl’s neck.
Wen Li raised her hand and gently patted his back: “You don’t need to be coaxed.”
It wasn’t true anger at all; one casual line and he softened right away.
The man let out a muffled laugh, leaned close to her ear, and said, “Yes, you don’t need to coax me—just hook your finger and I’ll come right over.”
In the whole world, the only person who can hold Fu Yuxiu firmly in her grasp is Wen Li.
He couldn’t bear to be angry with her.
“You’ve investigated so much, the Li family is entirely under your control—yet you didn’t find even one thing?” Wen Li paused.
The man carefully wrapped her in his arms, gave a grunt, which counted as agreement.
“Back then, my mother was in the hospital—she gave birth to a pair of twins.”
Fu Yuxiu understood at once what this meant.
“Li Li is your younger sister?”
Fraternal twins—between her and Li Li runs this single bloodline.
This was the reason she wanted to save Li Li—even after years of wandering, hardening her heart.
Li Li was also the person closest to her in this world.
“Anger gone? Can we move forward now?” Wen Li asked, holding him close.
The man let her go, leaned in to kiss the corner of her lips, and said, “How could I bear to be angry with you?”
Wen Li chuckled softly, raised her hand to pinch his face again, saying, “But your face doesn’t feel that good.”
Fu Yuxiu smiled and said, “Then I’ll put on some weight, so my baby can pinch me more comfortably?”
While the two were being affectionate here, Fei Ran and Xia Chen also managed to extract quite a lot from the thumb‑ring man’s mouth.
“Master, he said he knew Miss Wen’s identity—it was a woman who told him.” After finishing the man off, Fei Ran stood up and came over.
“Woman?”
Xia Chen instinctively glanced toward Wen Li’s direction, and understood who had done it.
“Boss.”
Wen Li took the phone Xia Chen handed over from the thumb‑ring man, smiled, and said, “Quite capable.”
“All these years, has this woman been watching you from the shadows?”
This dead woman.
“She dares to show herself now—that means she’s already decided how to face me.” A sharp gleam flashed in Wen Li’s eyes.
“Keep moving forward. I want to see what Purgatory went through all this trouble to come here for…"
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