Under Bai Cha’s ministrations, Yun He gradually awoke. The harsh light caused her to involuntarily turn her head away, the sound of wind in her ears suddenly near and then distant, leaving her momentarily bewildered.
“Yun He!”
A crisp, cold voice finally brought Yun He more clarity. A chilling touch suddenly appeared on the back of her neck, making her shiver. Looking at the exceptionally beautiful yet indifferent face before her, Yun He finally jolted awake, staring intently at Bai Cha, gasping for air.
So, all of this was not a dream. It was real!
“Awake?” Bai Cha knelt on the ground, nodding faintly. “Your eyes are good. Rare, given your parents’ dispositions, that they could produce such a calm child.”
“Heh heh~ Little Bai, you really look like a big villain like this~” Seeing the tension in the air, Meng Qinghuan interjected inappropriately again, holding his little loli in one arm and Yun He’s neck with the other, saying with a giggle, “Look, you two are so alike! Both have red eyes.”
Meng Qinghuan’s aura had always been upright and peaceful, yet the little loli in his arms also had crimson eyes. The sudden warmth slightly eased the oppression in Yun He’s heart.
“Hmm, far enough.” Bai Cha said nothing. Meng Qinghuan, seeing Bai Cha’s expression, smiled and quietly withdrew. The warmth vanished in an instant, and Yun He tightly pursed her lips, her complexion returning to its previous pallor.
A flash of blue light, and a figure was placed on the ground. Bai Cha’s jade hand swept away the ice, and upon seeing this figure, Yun He’s face became even paler, her breathing growing rapid, as if she might faint at any moment.
“Oh? Not dead yet? Dragon blood is indeed the bloodline with the strongest vitality.” Bai Cha looked at Yun Xia, who was struggling on the ground, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. “When your father was corrupted into an evil dragon, how did you manage to subdue him?”
Dragon vitality was universally acknowledged as powerful. Even with their hearts destroyed, they wouldn’t perish for a short period. As long as timely treatment was administered, they could regrow a heart. Furthermore, the heart was usually covered by extremely hard dragon scales, making it a secondary weakness.
The best way to destroy a dragon was to first destroy its brain. Even such powerful vitality could not venture into this mysterious and complex realm.
Next were decapitation and severing the spine. Without a head, survival was naturally impossible. The scales on a dragon’s neck were much sparser and softer, but the flesh was thick, making it somewhat difficult.
The spine was closest to the skin, with little flesh blocking it, thus a good choice. A dragon’s body was too enormous. A dragon with a broken spine was no different from a human paralyzed from the neck down.
However, the difficulty of this was greater, as dragon bones were still too hard.
This Yun Xia, who had already undergone irreversible dragonization, had been in a vacuum, unable to breathe and frozen for nearly ten minutes, yet she could still struggle.
At this moment, Yun Xia’s dragonization was even more severe, her gaze vacant, as if her brain’s reactions were extremely slow, the light in her eyes flickering intermittently.
Eating evil dragon flesh raw would result in this condition for ninety-nine percent of people. Human bodies were not as robust as those of animals. Dragon flesh, before being fully heated and sterilized, possessed strong activity that humans could not withstand.
“This is… Eh? She can still survive.” Meng Qinghuan also leaned closer, clicking his tongue in amazement.
“Her limbs are numb, and her thinking ability seems to be impaired as well. It appears that although she hasn’t died, the lack of oxygen has still caused significant damage,” Lucifer said gently, standing beside Bai Cha. “It seems to be advanced brain dysfunction caused by prolonged oxygen deprivation, leading to memory confusion and impaired judgment.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Cha nodded in agreement and couldn’t help but praise, “Not bad. You didn’t read the books in the study for nothing. Have you read the medical books too?”
“Naturally. As your attendant, I must naturally be proficient in many things to be your match,” Lucifer curved his lips and gave a slight bow.
Only Michael and Mo Ziye were by their side now, staring at each other, their eyes conveying the thoughts of two utterly bewildered individuals.
What were they talking about?
They didn’t know. It seemed to be about medicine.
The two exchanged glances, blinked at each other for a while, then turned their heads back, silently staring at the individuals still working, remaining utterly confused.
Bai Cha did not hurry, quietly watching Yun He, whose face was pale and close to fainting. She watched Yun He gradually calm down from her initial fear and unease, and after a short period of adaptation, she walked over.
Unexpectedly, after taking just two steps, the somewhat disoriented Yun Xia suddenly reached out her hand towards Bai Cha. She crawled on the ground, her arm, bearing a hideous dragon claw, stretching directly towards Bai Cha.
Lucifer and Meng Qinghuan were both startled and instinctively moved to shield Bai Cha. Fortunately, Bai Cha stopped them in time.
“Just… leave… it to… me…”
Yun Xia mumbled something unintelligible, the light in her dazed eyes flickering. Before she could finish, she collapsed back to the ground.
What was that?
Everyone was puzzled but did not pay attention to the minor interlude. Bai Cha walked directly to Yun He and took out a small dagger from her bracelet, handing it to Yun He.
“You calmed down quickly. Then answer the question,” Bai Cha said, standing in front of Yun He, her voice softening slightly. “Can you speak clearly?”
“Yes!” To Bai Cha’s surprise, Yun He became firm. Though her voice was small and slightly trembling, it was unexpectedly calm. Her voice was somewhat androgynous, and her gaze towards Bai Cha was surprisingly clear.
She had a bit of the demeanor of a wolf cub.
“Heh, very good.” Bai Cha chuckled lightly, pointing to Yun Xia on the ground. “Then, you tell me first, why did you tell me to kill her?”
This question was truly a stab to the heart. Even though Yun Xia had abused and vented her anger on Yun He since childhood, and was psychologically twisted to the point of never fulfilling her nurturing duties, she was still Yun He’s biological mother. This question was asked with no detours.
“You… I, I was just a bit angry.” Yun He swallowed, her lips trembling slightly. “She killed my father, and then killed several other people. Although those people were all people who abused me at school, it was still murder, and according to the law, it’s a capital offense.
And you… don’t seem like proper personnel.”
Upon saying this, Yun He couldn’t help but shrink her shoulders. “Not proper personnel,” when said like this, sounded a bit like an insult.
“Clap clap clap.”
A soft clapping sound echoed. Yun He, who had been losing confidence, looked at Bai Cha, who was clapping her hands lightly. After observing Bai Cha’s expression closely and realizing she wasn’t angry, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Good. You have courage and a clear mind.”
Bai Cha seemed quite pleased. She slowly walked over, handed the dagger she was holding to Yun He, and a playful smile appeared on her lips. “You are correct. I am not proper personnel. Now, guess, how should people in our line of work handle this next?”
“Forget it, let me put it another way.” Bai Cha sighed softly, smiling and pointing behind her at Yun He. “As the judge, what should you do?”
Silence. A long period of silence.
Half the people looked astonished, while the other half smiled with composure.
“Bai Cha! You can’t just kill people!” Mo Ziye finally reacted and hurried over. “Yun Xia was a person after all. It’s possible she could recover even after dragonization. How can you just kill her like this?”
Bai Cha remained still, turning her head to look coldly at Mo Ziye. “Didn’t you hear? Yun Xia took many lives and has already been corrupted by the evil dragon. Do you still want to save her?”
“But, we can’t just make private judgments. We should follow the proper procedures. What if she had her reasons!” Mo Ziye said with some concern.
“Reasons?” Bai Cha snorted. “Why should others pay the price for her reasons? Whether it’s paying for lives with lives or eliminating evil dragons that harm people, both justifications are valid, aren’t they?”
“But, this is too…” Mo Ziye still wanted to say something, but his body suddenly went numb, and his words turned into a groan.
Lucifer steadied Mo Ziye and handed him to Michael beside him. “Please keep an eye on your master. Interfering with the mission will come at a price.”
“But, what Ziye is saying is not wrong either,” Michael seemed unwilling to interfere, and he had that much self-awareness, but he also disagreed somewhat. “This is too cruel. You don’t even give people a chance to reform. At least give them a chance to live.”
Upon hearing this, Mo Ziye nodded repeatedly. That was exactly what he meant.
“A chance to reform? Ridiculous.” Bai Cha’s face held a colder sneer, and a hint of anger flashed in her eyes. “Those people Yun Xia captured, did they beg Yun Xia for a chance to live before they died?”
“If anyone speaks again, I will sew their mouths shut. I haven’t done this in a while,” Bai Cha declared, then looked at Yun He, who was holding the dagger. She said calmly, “You have two choices. One is to come under my wing; then use the dagger to kill her.
The other is to be an ordinary person. I will give you some money. If you want this, then throw away the dagger.”
Yun He gripped the small dagger in her hand. It was delicate yet sharp, inscribed with cloud patterns, and very exquisite. She tightened her grip on the dagger and raised her head, looking at Bai Cha seriously.
“Can I follow you?” she asked.
Bai Cha’s eyebrows slightly rose, and she smiled, saying, “That depends on you.”
Bai Cha looked at Yun He, and Yun He looked back at Bai Cha intently.
After a long moment, Bai Cha suddenly smiled. Although the two had not exchanged any words, Bai Cha seemed to have already foreseen the outcome. She slowly crouched down beside Yun He, her gaze softening.
“Do you know how to use it?” Bai Cha asked.
“Yes, my mother once tried to kill me with a similar knife,” Yun He said softly.
Bai Cha sighed lightly, stroking Yun He’s head. Her gentle gaze made everyone unable to discern its authenticity for a moment.
While everyone else was relaxed, she was cold and proud. When everyone else was nervous, she could smile gently. Truly capricious, her emotions unpredictable.
“Then go. After the mission is done, I will take you home.”
Home? Home?
Such familiar and simple words sounded incredibly strange to Yun He’s ears. She picked up the dagger and walked towards Yun Xia step by step, a multitude of complex emotions churning within her.
Bai Cha was not in a hurry, simply walking to the side and opening the jump capsule. In a rather good mood, she pointed to the now much larger capsule.
“Come on, get in.”
After Bai Cha’s earlier outburst, Michael and Mo Ziye no longer dared to say anything more. They followed Meng Qinghuan inside.
“Master.” Lucifer stood respectfully to the side, still elegant and gentle.
“Well done,” Bai Cha said with a smile, and also entered.
Lucifer smiled lightly, his mood suddenly much improved. He knew that by promptly stopping Mo Ziye’s unwarranted kindness, Bai Cha was in a good mood.
As soon as Bai Cha entered the capsule, she heard a sound from behind her. The smile on her lips deepened. Turning her head, she indeed saw Yun He stumbling over, only to be quickly caught by Meng Qinghuan beside her.
“Be careful, Little He. You’re family now~” Meng Qinghuan said with a smile.
“Who’s family with you…” Yun He lowered her head, but seemed to have finally let go of something and felt much lighter, even starting to bicker with Meng Qinghuan.
Meng Qinghuan didn’t care about such things. He waved his hand with a grin, saying cheerfully, “Oh well~ Don’t worry about the details~ We’re all family. You’ll know later~”