Bibi Dong's pupils contracted. "An Yi!!!"
She rushed over almost instantly, caught An Yi's body and held him tightly in her arms.
A vicious sword gash had appeared on An Yi's back, so deep that bone was visible. Blood poured from the wound, staining his robes red.
Qian Renxue stood rooted to the spot, her eyes instantly reddening.
"T-teacher?"
Bibi Dong jerked her head up, her eyes scarlet. The killing intent she had barely managed to suppress instantly spiraled completely out of control, and Divine Slaughter's Domain erupted with a roar, its presence almost tangible!
"Get lost!!!"
With that furious shout, the uncontrolled killing intent swept outward like raging waves.
Caught off guard, Qian Renxue was sent flying by the force, rolling several times across the grass before coming to a stop.
Ignoring the pain, she immediately pushed herself up from the ground and ran toward An Yi again.
But as soon as she took a step, she met Bibi Dong's cold, hateful gaze, brimming with killing intent.
Qian Renxue stopped dead in her tracks, her whole body turning cold.
"M-mom..."
In midair, Qian Xunji dismissed his Angel True Body. His expression changed drastically as he stared at An Yi lying in Bibi Dong's arms.
Damn it! He could have blocked it just now, but he deliberately withdrew the shield and held back!
A self-injury ploy!?
Bibi Dong looked down at An Yi in her arms, her hands tightening around him without her realizing it.
Blood stained her sleeves red. The man in her arms was deathly pale, his breathing faint, and the wound on his back, so deep that bone was visible, was a horrifying sight.
Bibi Dong's mind went completely blank.
Twelve years ago, she had watched with her own eyes as An Yi was swallowed by towering waves.
Back then, she had reached out, but had been unable to grasp anything.
Twelve years later, she had finally seen him again, finally let down her guard, finally been able to spend time quietly with him as she had in the past...
And now, did she have to watch helplessly as he died before her eyes again?
Again!
Why was it like this every time?!
Bibi Dong's eyes reddened and her body trembled slightly. The killing intent she had suppressed spiraled out of control again, a scarlet presence constantly surging from her body.
Just as Bibi Dong's killing intent was about to go completely out of control, a weak voice came from her arms.
"I'm fine..."
Bibi Dong's whole body shuddered.
An Yi forced his eyes open and seemed to try to push himself up, but he had barely moved before he hissed in pain and fell back into her arms.
Bibi Dong's killing intent vanished in an instant, only to be replaced by an even deeper fear.
"Don't move. You're badly hurt!" Bibi Dong's voice trembled as she hurriedly held him tight, not daring to let him move around again.
Qian Renxue stood a short distance away, her eyes red. She wanted to come closer, but did not dare step forward.
In midair, Qian Xunji dismissed his Martial Soul and landed on the ground, his expression extremely grim.
"An Yi! Stop pretending!"
Qian Xunji glared at him and said through gritted teeth, "Do you really think I can't tell you did it on purpose?!"
At those words, the killing intent Bibi Dong had just suppressed nearly erupted out of control again.
But at that moment, An Yi suddenly raised a hand and gripped her wrist tightly.
Cool moonlight fell from the sky, enveloping them both.
Bibi Dong was momentarily startled and instinctively looked down at An Yi.
An Yi shook his head at her. "I'm fine. I'll be all right after some rest."
Bibi Dong bit down hard on her lower lip and scooped An Yi into her arms.
Because An Yi's back was injured, she could only let him lean against her chest, carefully avoiding the wound.
Qian Xunji watched, his expression growing even uglier. "Dong'er, he did it on purpose! Can't you see that?!"
Bibi Dong's steps faltered slightly. Without turning around, she said flatly:
"If Teacher says so, then so be it."
With that, she carried An Yi straight out of the little garden.
Qian Renxue stood where she was and turned to look at Qian Xunji, her eyes full of disbelief.
"Dad, why did you do that?"
Qian Xunji hurried over and tried to explain. "Xue'er, he did it on purpose just now! Don't you believe your dad?"
Qian Renxue bit her lip hard. "But Teacher... he was trying to save me..."
"Xue'er!"
Qian Xunji crouched down and gripped her shoulders with both hands. "That shield just now could have blocked my attack! This is a self-injury ploy! Don't let him fool you with that act!"
Qian Renxue lowered her head without a word.
Seeing his daughter fall silent, Qian Xunji felt his heart turn half cold.
He opened his mouth, wanting to explain further, but Qian Renxue suddenly took half a step back.
Golden light flashed as the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul instantly possessed her, and the white wings on her back spread wide.
"I'm going to find Grandpa and ask him to help Teacher."
As soon as she finished speaking, she leaped into the air and flew toward the Worship Hall atop the mountain without looking back.
"Xue'er!"
Qian Xunji clenched his fists, his expression terrifyingly dark.
An Yi...
What kind of bewitching soup had that bastard fed his daughter?!
The Saintess Hall, bedchamber.
Bibi Dong carried An Yi all the way back to the room and carefully laid him on the bed.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she looked at the blood on his robes.
"Wait here. I'll find someone to help you!"
With that, she started to get up.
An Yi grabbed her wrist. "No need. I'm really fine."
The next moment, a rich, moon-white energy surged out of his body and slowly covered the vicious wound on his back.
A soft light flowed over it, the bleeding gradually stopped, and the torn flesh began to heal.
In less than a minute, the sword gash that had reached the bone disappeared completely. Only his bloodstained robes remained as proof that everything that had just happened was not an illusion.
Bibi Dong was utterly stunned. She looked at An Yi's back, then at her own hands, at a loss for words.
"This is..."
An Yi turned his head and raised an eyebrow. "Well? Impressive, isn't it?"
When Bibi Dong came to her senses, she gritted her teeth, both angry and anxious. "Are you crazy?!"
"Do you know what you were doing just now?!"
An Yi smiled nonchalantly. "Sure do. I slapped him twice. What, you're not happy?"
Bibi Dong's expression froze. She looked at him with a complicated gaze. "You... did you hit him on purpose for me to see?"
"Not entirely for you." An Yi curled his lip and snorted. "Mostly, I just couldn't stand watching him strut around like that."
"During my years on Sea God Island, I managed to rise to a position second only to Bo Saixi herself. Who does he think he is, daring to order me around?"
"I've wanted to beat him up for ages. Too bad I never found the right opportunity."
Bibi Dong glared at him, her anger flaring. "Then why did you hold back and withdraw your shield just now? Don't think I couldn't tell!"
"I wasn't doing it for you to see. I did it for Qian Renxue."
An Yi answered without a trace of guilt, "Qian Xunji nearly cut me to death with that sword strike. Let's see if that little girl still has the nerve to cling to me every day after this."
Bibi Dong's expression froze. His bizarre line of thinking made her so angry she could barely speak. "You!"
An Yi lay comfortably on his stomach on the bed and turned his head to look at her with the hint of a smile. "But the way you looked just now, you seemed pretty worried about me, huh?"
Bibi Dong's cheeks grew hot. She snorted and turned her head away to hide her fluster. "Who cares whether you live or die?!"
An Yi reached out, took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "All right, stop pretending. I saw it all."
"Were you afraid I'd almost die in front of you again, like I did on Sea God Island back then?"
Having had her thoughts laid bare, Bibi Dong was both embarrassed and angry. She gritted her teeth and flung his hand away. "Get lost!"
An Yi caught her wrist with his other hand and gave it a slight tug, pulling the unsuspecting Bibi Dong onto the bed. He looked into her somewhat flustered eyes.
"Do you really want me to get lost?"
"If you tell me to get lost, I will. It's easy to make me leave, but if you want me to come back, that'll be hard."
Bibi Dong's expression froze, her chest heaving with anger. "You!"
Before she could lash out, An Yi suddenly buried his head in her embrace like a child who had been wronged, even nuzzling against her.
"It hurts."
Bibi Dong stiffened, not knowing where to put her hands. At a loss, she said, "Haven't you already recovered?"
With his face buried in her embrace, An Yi's muffled voice came:
"My wound has healed, but my tender young heart took a critical hit."
Bibi Dong's face darkened, and she reached out to push his head away. "Let go!"
An Yi hugged her tighter. "I'm serious. In all my life, this is the first time I've ever been hurt so badly."
"It hurt like hell. I'm never using a self-injury ploy again. That deal was too much of a loss."
Seeing him act like such a scoundrel, Bibi Dong gave up struggling and snorted.
"Serves you right! I hope it hurts you to death!"