No Need to See Me Off

"Master, something's wrong."

The voice of "Half-Sweet Coffee" suddenly came from the earphones, speaking faster than ever before.

Yun Jingheng was about to open the door when his hand was already on the doorknob, and he stopped abruptly.

"Explain."

"Six Federation personnel are entering the association, three of whom are wearing the armbands of the Eastern Frontier Trade Route Inspection Bureau, two are local garrison troops, and one is in plainclothes."

"They are conducting a 'routine search' under the guise of a floor-by-floor search, starting from the first floor. Zhen Hua and Mr. Mu Ye have been asked to accompany them."

The man with the Half-Sweet Coffee paused for a moment. "They're carrying Soul Power fluctuation detectors; they'll arrive on this floor in thirty minutes."

Yun Jingheng slowly released his hand from the doorknob.

He stood at the doorway, not moving.

But my mind was already racing.

Thirty minutes. Hidden?

Can it be hidden?

The detector would detect the Soul Power fluctuations that he had not yet fully subsided after the God Trial, and there were only two living people on this floor, him and Ye Xinglan.

Downstairs are Zhen Hua, Mu Ye, and the entire association.

This is the floor they want.

They had already decided on this location.

If he is discovered, Zhen Hua and Mu Ye will be guilty of harboring a criminal.

Harboring the Shrek Core is a crime that could wipe out the entire Blacksmith Association.

He cannot allow this outcome to occur.

He looked at Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan heard it too.

Her face was a little paler than before, but her hand remained steady.

She looked at him, as if she already knew what he wanted to say.

"I'm going out," Yun Jingheng said.

Ye Xinglan stepped forward, her voice low. "No. You just woke up, and there are people outside who want you dead. If you rush out now, they'll just grab you."

"It's better for them to arrest me than for them to arrest me here."

Yun Jingheng said, "As long as I'm not discovered within the association, the association can still defend itself. If I rush out, they'll chase after me, and you'll be safe."

"Wow!"

Ye Xinglan interrupted him, her tone resolute, "I know this building better than you. I'll go down and circle around to the west, make some noise, and lure them north. If they see me, they'll chase after me anyway."

Yun Jingheng shook his head, his expression resolute. "They won't chase you that far, and once you show your face, those people from the Holy Spirit Cult will guess the relationship between you and me. If they catch you, I'll get out just the same."

"Then let's go together," Ye Xinglan said.

"If we go together, neither of us will be able to leave." Yun Jingheng had already walked up to her and pressed down on her shoulder.

His strength wasn't heavy, but it was extremely steady, as if he wanted to keep her rooted to the spot.

He looked down at her, his eyes displaying a calmness she had never seen before, a coldness that made her heart race.

"Go to the bathroom now, lock the door, and don't come out. Half-Sweet Coffee will keep watch outside for you. Wait until they chase me downstairs, then you can come out and go find Zhen Hua." He spoke very quickly, each word like it was being struck on metal.

Ye Xinglan opened her mouth, her eyes already red. "Yun Jingheng, you can't always do this."

He looked at her, paused for a very short while, and then said very softly, "Ye Xinglan, think about your family. If they see you now, your parents will die first. The Federation has been eyeing the Ye Family for a long time."

Ye Xinglan stopped moving.

Her fingers contracted, her knuckles turning bluish-white.

She stared intently at Yun Jingheng, as if she wanted to rip his entire body into her eyes.

But he's right.

He knew exactly how to corner her.

Her parents are still alive and under surveillance. If she shows her face, the Ye Family is finished.

"After I leave, don't worry about anything, just do as Half-Sweet Coffee said." Yun Jingheng released her shoulders, took a step back, and quickly tied his coat tighter.

He grabbed the computer from the table and stuffed it into his Storage Soul Tool, then swept a few odds and ends into a bag. He walked to the door and looked back at her.

"Xing Lan".

He spoke softly, his eyes appearing deep in the gradually brightening light, "Before, on the ruins, you said you wouldn't leave me alone again. But this time, I have to be alone."

He suddenly laughed. "Don't worry, they can't do anything to me."

Ye Xinglan remained silent.

She knew that one sentence from him was enough to seal her fate.

She slowly retreated to the bathroom door, placed her hand on the doorknob, and did not go in immediately.

Yun Jingheng had already opened the door. The light in the corridor, mixed with the morning light from the window, made him appear almost white.

He looked at her one last time, as if trying to remember how she looked.

Then he turned and ran towards the stairs.

The footsteps were light and quick.

Ye Xinglan stood at the door for a moment.

Then she retreated into the bathroom, closed the door, leaned against the door, and slowly squatted down.

She didn't cry.

That glint of cold light was her only response at that moment.

"What do you mean? You don't trust us?" Mu Ye's voice boomed in the corridor, making the walls vibrate.

He stood in front of Zhen Hua, one hand on the stair railing, his knuckles white from clenching his fists, looking like a bear that had been provoked.

"Routine search."

The tall officer at the head of the group had a blank expression and spoke in a steady tone, "Divine Craftsman, Your Majesty, this is the Council's order. The entire Heaven Dou City is being investigated, and the Blacksmith Association is no exception."

"Both of you are respectable people; it would be good for everyone if you cooperated."

"Decent people? You're scanning my association layer by layer with Soul Power detectors, like interrogating a criminal. Is that what you call cooperation?"

Zhen Hua rarely gets angry, but his voice turned cold at this moment. His gaze swept over the six Federation guests and finally landed on the plainclothes officer.

"Search if you want. But if you find nothing, I will personally go to the Federal Parliament and demand an explanation."

The plainclothes officer remained silent, his eyes lowered, like a shadow.

Upon hearing the word "parliament," his lips twitched very slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but then held back.

The tall officer made a "continue" gesture.

Just as the two inspectors were about to lift their legs, they suddenly stopped.

The silver-gray metal box in their hands emitted an extremely fine, high-pitched buzzing sound.

The red indicator light on the lid started flashing rapidly, faster and faster.

"There's Soul Power reaction!" someone whispered.

Buzz--!

Before the words were even finished, the entire door was shattered from the inside by an extremely powerful force.

Two intersecting Moon Crescent Blade burst through the door with a deafening roar, sending wood chips, sheet metal, and glass shards flying out with the shockwave.

The tall officer didn't even have time to scream before the Moon Crescent Blade struck him in the chest, sending him flying backward and crashing into the opposite wall, blood gushing from his mouth and nose.

The two patrol officers closest to him were also thrown over by the blast wave. One of them was hit on the forehead by a broken piece of door and died instantly.

The remaining two Federation soldiers were thrown down the stairs by the shock, but the civilian officer reacted extremely quickly, flipping backwards to cling to the wall and avoiding fatal injuries.

Everything happened in an instant.

Just before the Moon Crescent Blade broke through the door, Mu Ye instinctively tackled Zhen Hua.

The two fell to the ground, their heads pressed down by the blast wave, their mouths filled with dust.

When they looked up, the door was gone.

The door frame was charred black, and the wall was cracked with two extremely deep arcs.

Before the smoke and dust had completely cleared, a person slowly emerged from inside.

Yun Jingheng.

He was still wearing that gray-white short jacket, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his face had a slightly sleepy, lazy look on it.

His eyes were very bright, so bright that they seemed completely out of place amidst the chaos.

He glanced at the seemingly lifeless Federation members on the ground, then looked at Zhen Hua and Mu Ye, and suddenly smiled.

"Divine Craftsman, I have long admired you."

His tone was as casual as if he were just dropping by. "Excuse me for bothering you. Wulin said you had an excellent hiding place here. I only intended to hide for a few days, but I didn't expect them to find me."

He took a step forward, his foot landing on a shard of glass that made a sharp, cracking sound.

Mu Ye was still lying on Zhen Hua, completely stunned and unable to react.

Zhen Hua's mouth was also half open, his eyes darting back and forth between Yun Jingheng and the vanished door, his face turning white and then red, then red and then white again.

To the still-awake Federation soldiers, that expression looked like the shock of someone who had just discovered someone was hiding in their building.

Yun Jingheng took another step closer to Zhen Hua, pulled a small roll of paper covered with material names from his pocket, and waved it. "By the way, I'd also like to borrow a few metals from you. Here's the list, I'll pay you back."

He glanced back at the direction of the stairs.

The two Federation soldiers were unable to get up.

The plainclothes officer huddled in the corner, his eyes fixed on him like a venomous snake, his hand slowly moving towards his waist.

Yun Jingheng smiled and flicked the form at Zhen Hua.

The scraps of paper floated up in the smoke and dust, then drifted gently down.

"Farewell, no need to see me off." After saying this, he lightly touched the ground with his toes and darted like an arrow towards the window at the end of the corridor.

The glass shattered with a crash, and he leaped out.