Run, Run, Oh Run

Damn, damn, damn, damn... Only the ticking of Ma Shilong's IWC watch remained in the study, a watch Ma Shilong had barely worn since buying it, merely leaving it on the desk as a decoration to set a mood of passing time while he wrote.

Qin Luming stood up, looking at the expression of two-hundred-pound terror frozen on Ma Shilong's face. Unexpectedly, this celestial flying hammer thrown by Thor had not smashed his skull into pieces.

It hadn't even left any bloodstains.

Qin Luming plucked a strand of his hair and held it in front of Ma Shilong's nostrils.

He really had no breath left.

He checked his heartbeat next, and it was quite full... no, quite quiet.

Only then did Qin Luming turn to look at the black hammer that had flown in.

A very large hammer.

It was not a tool hammer commonly seen on construction sites or in various industries, but rather resembled a weapon possessed of some supernatural power.

Its shape was extremely unique, and the intertwined dragon bodies on the hammerhead formed an immensely intricate structure, bringing a sense of familiarity to Qin Luming.

He recalled the shape of the Jian Gu base of Marquis Yi of Zeng.

This was the weapon of the female protagonist in Ma Shilong's unfinished novel My Wife Is the Empress of Zhou!

Discovering this, Qin Luming hastily stepped back a few paces.

In this drizzly spring day, the afternoon still carrying a lingering chill, a light that seemed to have been forcibly retraced from Yanxia erupted in Ma Shilong's study, as if the gates of heaven had opened and an angel had descended to welcome Ma Shilong's soul.

The scorching and dazzling light gradually dissipated, and Qin Luming squinted to see a beautiful young woman standing beside Ma Shilong's plump and rounded body, holding the large black iron hammer that had just fallen from the sky.

The young woman was short, even a bit shorter than Qin Luming of ordinary height. Her features were exquisite as a painting, and a few strands of hair swayed as she tilted her head to study Qin Luming's movements. That cold gaze pierced through the strands of hair and landed on Qin Luming.

Zhou Nan... This young woman was definitely Zhou Nan, the female protagonist of My Wife Is the Empress of Zhou. Aside from her, no one could wield this large hammer named Emperor's Hammer.

Qin Luming stepped back step by step, his gaze locked onto Zhou Nan, his hands raised slightly. He retreated all the way to the wall, pulled open the study door, and stepped back outside.

Zhou Nan merely watched him without any intention of speaking. Qin Luming pulled the door shut, and then turned on his heel and ran.

Leaving Ma Shilong's home, Qin Luming trod through splashing muddy water, running all the way for half an hour before emerging from the winding alleys and stopping beneath a bus stop sign.

Qin Luming had already changed his appearance. His clothes were somewhat damp, his hair was wet and disheveled, and his slender fingers held a black-and-white ink-printed folding umbrella while his other hand picked up a book to read.

His breathing had already calmed down, much like the damp bangs of the young girl waiting for the bus beside him. When a gust of wind passed, it didn't stir up any gentle romance.

Whether Ma Shilong was dead or alive... According to Qin Luming's analysis and speculation, when certain characters from books entered the real world, the first thing they needed to do was kill the original author. That way they could stay in the real world forever, making it very difficult to banish them... To put it another way, to reseal them into the original book.

Sure enough, Zhou Nan had also made the same choice. Based on Qin Luming's understanding of Zhou Nan from reading the book My Wife Is the Empress of Zhou, she was extremely dangerous.

This was also the reason Qin Luming chose to run away at the very first instance... It wasn't that Zhou Nan was bloodthirsty, cruel, or perverted, but rather because her identity was that of an empress.

An empress who possessed ultra-strong power of her own without needing to rely on an army—such a setup predestined her dangerous nature... Just like a well-fed tigress, when a chubby little lamb walked past it, would the little lamb live or die?

It depended on its mood.

With nothing better to do, Qin Luming didn't want to have much contact with her... Anyway, Ma Shilong was already dead. If he insisted on staying here, who knew for what reason Zhou Nan might just kill him along the way?

"Handsome, what book are you reading?" The girl next to him seemed a bit bored waiting for the bus and grew interested in the book Qin Luming was reading.

The previous bus had left ten minutes ago, or perhaps this was a beautiful missed opportunity, as a romantic encounter seemed about to happen right here.

"Ancient Village Life." Qin Luming snapped out of it, sniffed, and looked expressionlessly at the girl.

"Is it a time-travel novel? I also like reading ancient romance, like Revisiting the Qing Palace: The Little Princess Consort, Quick Transmigration: Spoil Me for Ten Thousand Years... Those are all books I've been following lately." The girl spoke to Qin Luming happily as if she had found common language, not minding his cold expression much. The young man before her eyes, this intermittent rain, and her budding feelings all fused together into a comfortable atmosphere.

"No, this is a reference book, researching some folk customs, traditions, and life records of ancient villages." Qin Luming shook his head. "And... stop talking to me. I can't stand the smell of photinia flowers coming from your mouth."

"Ah? Photinia flowers..." The girl hurriedly breathed into her hand and sniffed it.

At that moment, the bus finally arrived. Qin Luming got on, while the girl left behind persistently tried to determine whether she really had any photinia flower breath.

After boarding the bus, Qin Luming heard the driver cursing and grumbling about the weather, the road conditions, and the traffic jam.

Qin Luming sat in the seat behind the driver and listened. After cursing the weather for a while, the driver began to curse his boss and wife, then cursed the leaders and teachers of his daughter's school. When mentioning that his daughter needed to pay for cram school fees, his voice grew lower, but much of the anger had vanished. Speaking of his daughter, his tone carried a hard-to-detect gentleness.

Qin Luming was the only passenger. The driver wasn't saying it for anyone in particular; he simply couldn't bottle up all his emotions inside. The driver needed to vent and release them to avoid accidents caused by emotional interference.

The bus arrived at the next stop, and a mother holding an umbrella and carrying a little girl of about five boarded. The mother and daughter sat across from Qin Luming, and the driver also stopped his complaining monologue, looking straight ahead in silence.

Qin Luming had been reading quietly the entire time. The mother across from him placed the tip of her umbrella into a plastic bag to prevent rainwater from dripping everywhere. The five-year-old little girl intermittently hummed a nursery rhyme, her large pupils rolling around in her eye sockets like koi carp waiting for tourists to feed them in a pond, swimming aimlessly yet full of anticipation.

"That sounds so nice." Qin Luming raised his head and smiled as he clapped, his hands moving rapidly with slightly exaggerated movements and expressions. But the little girl was very happy, a smile blooming on her face as she sang even louder.

The young mother looked at Qin Luming and smiled. The gentleness from a stranger seemed to make this constantly jolting bus a bit more comfortable.

Arriving at the transfer station, Qin Luming waved goodbye to the little girl, stood under the bus shelter, opened his book, and began waiting for the next bus.