Luo Qingshan stood at the edge of the cliff, watching the vehicle driven by Ling Xiao disappear into the distance. His cold, indifferent eyes revealed no emotion.
After a long silence, he knelt on one knee, as reverently as worshipping a deity.
“May my Lord’s journey be safe, smooth, and filled with happiness.”
The strong smell of disinfectant stung the nose. The white ceiling felt as if it had been stared into a blooming flower by Xie Jinwen.
She lay in the ICU hospital bed, an IV needle in the back of her hand, a drip bag hanging above her head.
The medicine flowed into her body, cold and faintly soothing, but nothing more than that.
The fever inside her body was not something this could cure.
Someone entered the ward. Xie Jinwen turned her head—it was A Mei.
A Mei wore isolation clothing for the visit. When she saw Xie Jinwen awake, she was overjoyed.
“You finally woke up! Goo~”
Xie Jinwen smiled. “Most likely just acclimatization. The outside world needs adjustment time.”
A Mei continued, “Strange things happened while you were unconscious, goo~”
Xie Jinwen paused slightly, then began calculating with her fingers. She nearly laughed from anger.
Luo Qingshan had really done something impressive.
Old Nest Village had re-emerged into the world. The villagers were stationed on a flat area at the base of the mountain. Luo Qingshan had also altered the memories of the villagers and all rescue personnel involved.
There had been no earthquake, no merging mountains. Ling Xiao was said to have crashed a fighter jet into the village by accident, landing precisely on her house. Her hospitalization was attributed to being knocked unconscious by the shockwave.
At the time of the crash, the villagers had gone to the mountain-top temple to offer incense and were thus spared. Ironically, the deity enshrined there was not Luo Qingshan—but her.
So the villagers were unharmed, and the only injured person was Xie Jinwen.
Meanwhile, Ling Xiao was being held under isolation in the military camp, required to cooperate with investigation, provide testimony, and give statements.
Until the incident was officially classified, his responsibility remained undetermined—whether it was an accident or deliberate terrorist-like action against a village. The conclusion was still pending.
In short, Ling Xiao was in trouble.
And everything that had happened between them in the mountain had been erased completely.
What exactly was Luo Qingshan doing?
Thinking carefully, it was not hard to infer: a village at the epicenter of a “disaster” remaining completely unharmed was scientifically unreasonable.
And anything unscientific would attract scrutiny.
Luo Qingshan did not want outsiders to investigate too deeply, so he constructed a plausible explanation—one that was believable, and incidentally made things more troublesome for Ling Xiao.
As for Old Nest Village, A Mei didn’t care much. They had not treated her well, and she returned the sentiment.
Ling Xiao was innocent and would eventually be cleared. A Mei also didn’t care about Ling Xiao. She only cared about Xie Jinwen.
A Mei frowned. “I heard Ling Xiao has a childhood fiancée at home. Will that mess up your fate line? Goo~”
Xie Jinwen waved it off casually. “A destined connection can’t be broken. Don’t think about it.”
She paused, then added, “A Mei, go south. There’s a practitioner from a traditional Chinese medicine family. He can cure your muteness. Then you’ll truly be able to speak.”
A Mei’s eyes lit up with joy. Being able to speak had always been her greatest wish.
Xie Jinwen smiled lightly. “You have your own path to walk. Before you go, I’ll arrange travel money for you.”
Ling Xiao arrived at the hospital a week later in the afternoon. Xie Jinwen had already been transferred from ICU to a normal ward.
He was neatly dressed in a white shirt and black trousers—no more accidental opportunities to admire his bare physique. Xie Jinwen felt a slight regret.
Ling Xiao looked tired. The investigation had cleared him of intentional wrongdoing. He was released from isolation, but flight privileges were suspended, and his movement was restricted to the camp.
Half an hour earlier, he had spoken with the village chief of Old Nest Village and been asked for a large compensation sum.
The organization handled official compensation, but the village chief was being difficult and demanding additional payment. Ling Xiao personally contributed some money and negotiated firmly before the matter was settled.
Anything solvable with money, in his view, was not a problem.
“One million.”
Ling Xiao had just entered the military hospital when he heard that number and thought he had misheard.
“Miss Xie, what did you say?”
Xie Jinwen replied calmly, “You destroyed my home, and I’m still lying in the hospital. Asking for compensation—am I being unreasonable?”
Ling Xiao looked at her flushed face from fever, her clear eyes, and her striking appearance.
“Compensation isn’t unreasonable. But one million might be a bit excessive.”
He did have money, but he wasn’t an easy target. Full compensation and medical costs would at most reach a few hundred thousand.
Xie Jinwen immediately agreed. “Fine. Then one hundred thousand.”
“!!”
Ling Xiao’s shock was comparable to discovering a new continent. Did she just read his mind?
Coincidence?
Yes. It must be coincidence. There was no such thing as mind reading.
He coughed. “Then this hundred thousand…”
“This hundred thousand is a buyout,” she said. “From now on, I won’t bother you again. Much easier to deal with than the village chief.”
Ling Xiao somewhat agreed with that.
“Alright. We’re even after this.”
His voice weakened slightly toward the end. Strangely, the thought of never interacting with her again made him feel a little uneasy.
Xie Jinwen nodded. “I don’t have a phone or bank card. Give me cash.”
Ling Xiao hesitated, but didn’t comment further. He left and returned with a bag containing 500,000 in cash—money he had arranged through colleagues.
“I can only get this much today. I’ll bring the rest tomorrow.”
Without objection, Xie Jinwen handed the bag to A Mei.
“A Mei, this place doesn’t suit you. Leave for the south now.”
A Mei opened the bag, took out two bundles of cash, then shook her head.
“The skills you taught me are enough. I won’t starve… Can I come back later? Goo~”
Her voice trembled.
Xie Jinwen held her hand gently. “After you cure your muteness, come back whenever you miss me.”
She still gave her the bag.
Ling Xiao watched silently from the side, mentally overwhelmed.
She took his 500,000 and immediately used it to send someone away for treatment—what a “good person.”
But then again… “north is bad for you,” “fate line,” what was she? A master practitioner? Like his uncle-master?
He studied her carefully again. Young, beautiful… but didn’t really fit.
After seeing A Mei off, Xie Jinwen looked at Ling Xiao.
“Aren’t you leaving? It’s getting dark. Someone in the family quarters is still waiting for you.”