[Ye Yun Returns]

Intelligent Island.

Early evening.

Green Valley Dock, Warehouse No. 2.

"Yifu!"

Jie Xing stood in front of Ye Zhen, his voice full of doubt.

They could have dealt with those guys. So why?

"We're extremely short on time. We can't afford to waste any more."

Ye Zhen didn't even look up at him. He kept working at the computer. "If we don't pull out, we might get held up. That would cause trouble."

"All right."

Jie Xing had no choice.

It was all the fault of Skin Painting and Ice Weapon, those two troublemaking bastards.

If it weren't for them, he would definitely have killed that guy.

"We don't have much time."

Ye Zhen rolled his neck, his gaze fixed on the computer in his hands. "All right, now let's welcome our Supersonic Messenger."

"All done?"

At that, Jie Xing, who had been feeling rather gloomy, grew excited when he heard Supersonic was ready.

Supersonic!

"It's a shame Jian Jie and Qin Hui reacted so quickly. Otherwise, I could've hacked straight into DRE Company and made several of the Supersonics being tested there our allies."

Regret showed on Ye Zhen's face, and he sighed repeatedly.

Jian Jie and Qin Hui had simply reacted too quickly.

As soon as he hacked into DRE Company, they had changed the Firewall Program in time.

Otherwise...

"Don't worry, Yifu. I'll definitely go and take those allies back."

Jie Xing promised with absolute conviction.

"Don't get too excited just yet. We should find Han Feng and the others' bodies as soon as possible."

Ye Zhen waved a hand. "Without their original bodies, they won't be able to unleash their full strength."

"But Yifu, even if we get their bodies back, Skin Painting has fallen out with us. Will she help repair them?"

Jie Xing asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. She definitely will."

Ye Zhen was confident. "But it'll all depend on what the Fire God does."

"All right."

Ye Yun looked at Qiya in front of him. "You can leave me here. Thanks for your help this time."

"It's no trouble. You're my younger brother, after all."

Qiya smiled at him. "Remember to say hello to your sister for me. It's been so many years since we last saw each other."

"Sure, no problem."

Ye Yun nodded slightly, then asked tentatively, "Do you know where she is?"

"Who? Qiya?"

She looked at Ye Yun uncertainly, then thought for a moment. "If my intel is accurate, she should be in the capital on the mainland right now."

"See you next time."

Ye Yun nodded, then turned and climbed aboard the yacht moored nearby.

The yacht slowly pulled away from the shore, disappearing into the vast darkness of the night.

Watching the vessel vanish into the darkness, Ice Weapon asked, "What should we do now?"

"For the time being, don't take any jobs from Duyizhi. They can't get away with bullying my younger brother."

A cold voice rang out in the darkness.

A crew-cut woman, identical to the one standing beside Ice Weapon, slowly emerged. Her eyes were full of icy killing intent.

Jie Xing.

Three years ago, he had killed her father. Today, he had nearly killed her younger brother.

This wasn't over.

"I think the same way."

Intelligent Being Qiya wholeheartedly agreed with her original self. "But was it really okay to lie to him like that?"

"What's wrong with it?"

Qiya shook her head slightly. "We can't let them worry. We each have our own mission to fulfill."

"Let's go."

Intelligent Being Qiya glanced at Ice Weapon. "Be careful when you head out. The Intelligence Hunting Bureau has been acting crazy lately."

"Mm, got it."

Ice Weapon nodded and headed for the car in the darkness.

He was Qiya's guardian.

Whatever Qiya protected, he protected too.

Linji Island.

Ancient Castle.

Qin Yan and Ye Yun had returned to the Ancient Castle some time ago.

The castle was currently in a state of anxiety.

Feiran paced back and forth in the Great Hall, her eyes full of worry.

They had indeed brought him back.

But her younger brother still hadn't returned.

It wasn't just Feiran who was worried. Professor Qin Hui and Professor Jian were anxious too.

What if they had brought the person back, but gotten their teacher's only son killed in the process?

If that really happened, how could they face their teacher, who had passed away many years ago?

Professor Qin Hui opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound.

Qin Yan sat beside her father, not daring to say or ask a thing.

Her father had also told her that she would be staying in the Ancient Castle.

She was reluctant, but she had no choice but to refuse.

Her father had already agreed to it.

What right did she have to refuse?

If she did, wouldn't she be making her father lose face?

She would never do such a thing.

"Um, should I go outside and take a look?"

Ye Yun glanced tentatively at everyone present.

The atmosphere in the Great Hall was really strange.

Almost unnaturally so.

At this,

everyone merely glanced at her before ignoring her.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Just then,

faint footsteps sounded outside.

At the sound of those faint footsteps, delight appeared on everyone's faces, only to be replaced by unease.

What if the person outside wasn't Ye Yun?

Intelligent Being Feiran had drawn her bow to its full length, ready at any moment to unleash her strongest attack. Her icy gaze was fixed on the Great Hall's entrance.

"Knock, knock, knock."

A crisp knock sounded at the door.

Ye Yun finally relaxed a little and glanced at everyone. "I'll get it."

"Come back."

Feiran and Intelligent Being Feiran hurriedly spoke up, their faces grave.

"What is it?"

Professor Qin Hui, Professor Jianjie, Qin Yan, Ye Yun, and Ye Qiao Er, who had recovered, stared at them in confusion.

Wasn't the person already back?

Why...

"He never knocks when he comes back."

Feiran's expression was solemn as she stared toward the door.

Hearing this, everyone nodded in understanding. No one questioned her.

Why were they attacking us when we knocked? Only an idiot would ask something like that.

They were at home. If someone came in without knocking, they had to be an enemy.

"Creak."

The door creaked open with a sound that set everyone's teeth on edge.

At the sound,

Ye Yun and Intelligent Being Feiran were already prepared to attack at any moment.

Qin Yan, meanwhile, fearfully hid behind her father.

She only felt safe behind him.

The Ancient Castle's heavy door slowly opened a crack. A figure came in from outside, then struggled to pull it shut.

"Huff, huff."

Harsh breathing rang out.

Ye Yun leaned against the door. The effort of opening it had caused the wound on his chest to split open again, and a trickle of blood flowed out.

"Little brother..."

When they saw who it was, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Feiran hurried over, about to embrace him.

But Ye Yun raised a hand to stop her.

She looked closely and saw Ye Yun panting heavily. The front of his suit was soaked, and blood was dripping from his clothes onto the floor.

"You're hurt?"

Feiran hurriedly helped him, her eyes filled with concern.

How could this have happened?

He was so badly injured.

"I'm not a god. How could I possibly come away unhurt?"

He forced a smile and, with Feiran supporting him, slowly made his way toward the long dining table.

"Hiss."

After sitting down, he couldn't help sucking in a breath of pain.

If he hadn't been so tough, he'd probably be lying in the intensive care unit right now.

Those despicable bastards, Jie Xing and the others.

They really infuriated him.

Not only had they shamelessly ganged up on him, they'd also taken potshots at him.

But he couldn't exactly blame them.

If he were in Jie Xing's position, he would do whatever it took to destroy anyone standing in his way.

That was how a proper villain acted.

If someone had the advantage and still insisted on a one-on-one fight, they'd be an idiot.

"Get some gauze and disinfectant alcohol!"

Seeing the wound on Ye Yun's chest, Professor Jianjie looked grave. "Don't talk for now, or you'll pull at the wound. Quickly, help him take off his clothes. Once the blood clots, it'll be hard to get them off."

Everyone agreed.

Professor Qin Hui turned to his daughter. "Xiao Yan, you don't need to watch. You might get scared and lose sleep tonight. Be good and listen to me."

Everyone hurriedly stripped off his clothes. The sight of the wound on his chest filled their eyes with shock.

But when they saw the stitches across his chest, they couldn't help feeling relieved.

Good thing it had already been stitched up.

Without the stitches, things would have been much more difficult.

"Here, this is disinfecting alcohol. It's the medical alcohol we keep stocked in the Ancient Castle. There's only one bottle left."

Feiran handed the medical alcohol to Professor Jianjie, her face full of worry.

She hadn't expected it.

Her younger brother had been so seriously injured.

If she'd known this would happen, she wouldn't have let Ye Yun go rescue Qin Yan even if it killed her.

"Hiss."

The disinfecting alcohol poured over the wound, and Ye Yun's eyes immediately widened as he sucked in a breath.

It hurt. It really hurt.

When the doctor had operated on him earlier, he'd refused anesthesia and simply forced himself to endure the surgery. The pain had nearly killed him.

Now, after having highly concentrated alcohol poured over him, he almost cried out.

"Wow, what a real man."

A voice of admiration came from beside him.

At once,

Ye Yun, who was in the middle of suffering, laughed.

Only, his smile looked truly awful.

It was like he was both crying and laughing at the same time.

"Qiao Er, don't fool around."

Qin Yan, who had already been too afraid to watch, crouched down and picked up Ye Qiao Er, covering her little mouth with her hand.

Couldn't she see he was being treated?

Why was she making trouble right now?

After cleaning Ye Yun's wound and wrapping it in bandages, Professor Jianjie was panting with exhaustion. "How are you feeling?"

"Not bad."

Ye Yun's face was flushed, as if he were constipated.

"Good thing someone operated on you and stitched up the wound. Otherwise, you'd probably be lying in the ICU."

Professor Jianjie wiped the sweat from her forehead. "As the ancients said, those who survive great calamities will be blessed in the end."

"..."

"Professor Jian, you're a scientist."

Ye Yun made a joke, trying to distract himself from the pain.

"Scientists are people too. Some scientists believe in Buddhism or Taoism." Professor Jianjie rolled her eyes at him. "Newton, Galileo, Edison, and Einstein were all great scientific giants, and even my teacher pursued theology in his later years. Besides, this isn't theology."

"You..."

Ye Yun looked at her uncertainly, still puzzled about how he had escaped.

After all,

there had been so many people from Duyizhi at the time.

Had he really fought his way out?

"Someone rescued me."

Ye Yun smiled and didn't say much more.

"I'll help you get some rest first."

Feiran gave him a long look, then turned to the others. "Everyone, it's already late at night. You should find a room and stay here."

"All right. We really owe you this time."

The next day,

the sun was bright, and the sky was clear.

Ye Yun stood on the Ancient Castle's balcony, quietly basking in the sunlight as he watched the others say their goodbyes below.

"Xiao Yan, stay here and behave, all right? Maybe this is the safest place for you. Your dad has some things to take care of at the company, but I promise I'll come visit you on Linji Island as soon as I have time."

Professor Qin Hui looked at his daughter with reluctance.

If the company hadn't had an urgent matter that required him to return, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to leave.

He would definitely have stayed to keep his daughter company for a few days.

But the company's situation was serious.

He had to go back and deal with it himself.

It wasn't that Professor Qin Hui had said he would give up everything for his daughter, but now that she was safe, he also had to take care of his own responsibilities.

Without a good career, how could he provide his daughter with a good environment to grow up in?

So,

if you want to find a wife and give your future child a good environment to grow up in,

work hard, young man.

"Dad, remember to come visit me. And remember to take care of your health, and hire a few more bodyguards."

After being kidnapped by Duyizhi, Qin Yan understood how dangerous things could be.

If she went back, she'd surely cause her dad a lot of trouble.

Who knew whether those bastards from Duyizhi would kidnap her again to threaten him?

"Mm, Dad knows."

Professor Qin Hui gave his daughter a relieved hug. "Tell Dad what you want to eat, and I'll make it for you myself. If I don't know how to make it, I'll buy it and bring it over."

"Okay, okay, Old Qin, hurry up and go."

Seeing Professor Qin Hui still exchanging pleasantries after half an hour, Professor Jianjie couldn't help urging him on.

If you kept going, it'd be dark before you knew it.

"All right, Xiao Yan. Dad's leaving now."

Professor Qin Hui patted his daughter on the shoulder, then turned around reluctantly and got into the car with Professor Jianjie and the others. They slowly drove out of the Ancient Castle.

As Qin Yan watched the car slowly drive away, crystalline tears rolled down from her wide eyes.

She knew that while she'd been kidnapped, her father must have gone to a lot of places and done everything he could to help.

"Come on, don't cry. Since you're staying here, you should pitch in, right? How about this: from now on, you're in charge of the cooking."

Seeing Qin Yan crying, Feiran didn't hold back.

She handed the cooking duties over to her.