Chapter 105: From Danger to Safety

Bai Luomei noticed that the shoes worn by the waitress were different from the others, and a subtle sense of unease prompted her to follow. Just as she reached the stairwell, a female guest brushed past her; she caught a whiff of a strange perfume, and after that, she could recall nothing.

Seeing Bai Luomei dazed for a long while, Zhai Muli knew she had recalled the suspicious events of the previous night.

"You were hypnotized! The scenes you just saw were exactly what happened while you were under," Zhai Muli told her the truth. "I saw you were not in your right mind and feared you might commit a graver error, so I had someone knock you out and bring you back."

Bai Luomei gritted her teeth. "You don't have to act so sanctimonious! Isn't all of this a conspiracy orchestrated by you?"

Zhai Muli’s eyes narrowed at this, and he sneered, "You underestimate me too much! If this were my handiwork, do you think Nangong Ao would still be sitting comfortably in his office right now? Even if he values that distant cousin of his, she is not as important as he is, the man in power. Why would I waste the effort?"

"..." Bai Luomei wanted to retort, but his words were not without logic. Based on what she knew of Zhai Muli, he was an arrogant and conceited man. In the past, all his schemes were directed at Nangong Ao and the ZR Group; he never bothered to target those around him. Moreover, judging by his tone, he seemed unaware of the secrets surrounding Xianyu Qing.

"If you didn't do this, then why bring me here? Are you trying to use my mistake to blackmail our boss?"

Faced with her questioning, Zhai Muli felt a surge of irritation. Damn this woman; he shouldn't have been soft-hearted and meddled in her affairs!

"That's right! I want to see what Nangong Ao can do to cover up your crimes!" Zhai Muli stood up with a cold face. "Now that you are in my hands, you had better come to terms with your situation!"

With that, Zhai Muli slammed the door and left. He, the dignified head of the Zhai family, had been driven to slam a door by a woman who only ever gave him cold looks! If he hadn't taken her away last night, once the Mo family discovered her actions, even Nangong Ao’s influence wouldn't have been enough to save her. Yet, instead of being grateful, she opened her mouth only to curse and doubt him!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He reprimanded the maid guarding the door: "What are you staring at? Go in and watch her!"

The maid shrank back in fear. Her young master was usually stern, but he had never been this harsh. What exactly had that woman inside done to provoke him?

Zhai Muli left with a dark expression. The housekeeper approached from a short distance away and instructed the maid: "The young master wants you to go in and serve her. Remember, do not neglect the guest inside."

"A guest?" The maid was confused. Why would this guest make the young master so angry?

The housekeeper cleared his throat. "Don't overthink it; just do as I say!" His young master had never cared for women, and for a time, it was rumored that his preferences were unconventional. Little did they know, the young master simply looked down on those women, finding them foolish and troublesome—he was merely annoyed by them. Now that he had finally brought a woman home, they naturally had to treat her well!

Despite her lingering doubts, the maid obediently replied, "Yes."

***

Jiang Mohe did not know how long he had been asleep. When he woke up and saw the gray stone bricks above, he suddenly realized: the wolf venom in his system had been neutralized?!

The Jiang family members possessed incredible explosive power and regenerative abilities, but they were defenseless against toxins. He had once been used as a test subject in a mysterious medical organization and injected with their experimental drugs, so chemical toxins generally couldn't harm him. However, the wolf venom found in those "pseudo-variants" was a toxin inherent to the variants themselves, specifically designed to destroy blood-clotting functions, which should have been fatal to him.

Yet, he had survived! Could it be because he had consumed Xianyu Qing's blood earlier?

Jiang Mohe moved his body. Perhaps due to excessive blood loss, his limbs were numb and devoid of sensation.

"Mmm..."

Hearing a soft whimper, he looked down to see Xianyu Qing curled into a ball, nestled against him. Perhaps due to the cold, one of her small hands was subconsciously clutching his uninjured arm. A scene flashed through Jiang Mohe’s mind: once, a soft little bundle had rested quietly in his arms, muttering, "Mommy..."

Jiang Mohe did not wake her. Unable to move his body, he tried to lift his other arm to pull the coat covering him over her, but he accidentally tugged at his wound and let his arm drop back down.

Xianyu Qing’s eyelashes fluttered. She opened her eyes, blinked, and sat up. Seeing that Jiang Mohe was awake, her sleepy eyes instantly brightened.

"Mr. Jiang, are you alright?"

"Yes," Jiang Mohe’s voice was dry and hoarse. "What time is it?"

Xianyu Qing shook her head. She had stayed by his side until his condition stabilized, at which point exhaustion took over and she fell asleep. She had no habit of wearing a watch, and her phone was either lost or broken; she had no way of knowing the time.

"Should I go up and check?" she suggested.

"Can you push open the cover at the entrance?" Jiang Mohe asked.

Xianyu Qing said uncertainly, "I'll go check." She had never left his side and didn't know the layout of the place. Now, looking closely, she realized this underground passage was different from ordinary ones; it was built to be exceptionally spacious and sturdy, no different from a bomb shelter. When she reached the entrance, she found that the lid was actually a heavy stone slab. There was no way an ordinary person could push that open!

Xianyu Qing had to return empty-handed. Jiang Mohe had already guessed this and explained, "The entrance here is very well hidden, which is why those people couldn't find us." It was fortunate that they were only dealing with "pseudo-variants," otherwise, they would never have escaped the search.

"Mr. Jiang, those people last night... they weren't normal, were they?" Xianyu Qing had been puzzled by this.

Jiang Mohe pondered for a moment before finding reasonable wording: "They were originally ordinary people, but after being chosen, they were injected with the blood of one or more variants, triggering mutations that enhanced their combat power. Those from last night were mutated with wolf blood; their claws were toxic, and their attack power and speed were formidable, especially at night!"

Xianyu Qing was stunned, and it took her a long moment to ask, "Are they as powerful as the bio-monsters in the movies?"

Jiang Mohe had never seen those films, so he replied, "Though they are strong, there is still a gap between them and true variants." For instance, they could not sense life forms through the surface layer, but he could.

"Mr. Jiang, what kinds of variants are there in this world?" Xianyu Qing had always been curious. The Nangong family's traits were resistance to cold and hunger, lower body temperatures than normal, greater physical strength, and longer lifespans. Their most miraculous ability was entering a state akin to hibernation when temperatures dropped below zero.

What other kinds of variants existed? She had only ever seen Jiang Mohe and knew his combat power was off the charts, but she didn't know what other special abilities he possessed.