A prisoner spat on the ground:
“Bah! What are you, some kind of flower guardian?”
“I’ll take you out too, make you two a pair of miserable lovebirds.”
An Qingyu heard this and instead of anger, he laughed.
This guy’s eyes weren’t bad, he could actually see that he and Qiye were a couple.
Well, if that’s the case, he’d make this guy regret his words.
“Qiye, Cao and I are here to protect your chastity.”
In the sky not far away, a slightly chubby man, Baili Pangpang, waved at Lin Qiye as he rode on a golden-glowing flying device.
Next to Baili Pangpang sat a man with a crew cut.
Lin Qiye twitched the corner of his mouth in speechless disbelief:
“Do I even need protection? Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
Especially here in the Fasting Institute, with An Qingyu watching over him, how could anything happen?
Beside him, An Qingyu slightly turned his head, feeling guilty.
Sorry, Qiye.
Your chastity… I’ve already taken it.
But, I’ll take responsibility.
An Qingyu thought to himself.
The crew-cut man, Cao Yuan, looked at Lin Qiye:
“Qiye, kill all of them?”
Lin Qiye nodded: “Yes, all of them.”
Cao Yuan rested his hand on the blade, and an overwhelming, violent aura immediately radiated from him.
Baili Pangpang pulled out a treasure like a giant cabbage, showing off the extravagance of a pay-to-win player, and aimed it at the group of prisoners.
An Qingyu watched the two of them with interest:
“Qiye, can I dissect these two?”
Lin Qiye placed his hand on An Qingyu’s shoulder and said seriously, “No.”
He knew An Qingyu’s thought process was not like an ordinary person’s.
He had to make sure An Qingyu understood that some people were off-limits for dissection.
Baili Pangpang and Cao Yuan were brothers— not experimental subjects.
An Qingyu’s Adam’s apple rolled slightly.
Qiye had touched him first.
He obediently nodded:
“Alright, Qiye. I’ll follow your order.”
His fingertips shot out fine threads, aiming straight for the vital points of the prisoners ahead.
Qiye had said these prisoners could be killed.
So there was no need for him to hold back.
Han Jin, blending among the prisoners, suddenly shivered.
He sensed something and turned his head.
A silver thread flashed by.
With a gurgling sound,
Han Jin’s head hit the ground.
Only then did An Qingyu breathe a satisfied sigh of relief.
Last time, out of consideration for Lin Qiye, he had only disabled this man’s arm.
But seeing the person who had once coveted Lin Qiye still alive made An Qingyu feel uneasy.
Still, it was finally dealt with.
He would never allow anyone who had tried to harm Lin Qiye to remain alive.
After Lin Qiye joined the battlefield and took down some of the prisoners, he turned around and saw An Qingyu smiling even while dissecting others.
Sensing the gaze behind him, An Qingyu turned to see Lin Qiye and immediately switched to a gentle, harmless smile:
“Sorry, Qiye. I’m just used to dissecting test subjects.”
Lin Qiye waved his hand:
“It’s fine. What matters most is handling these prisoners who tried to escape.”
An Qingyu carefully observed Lin Qiye’s expression.
Once he confirmed that Qiye felt no fear or intimidation, he relaxed slightly.
Whenever Lin Qiye dealt severe wounds to the prisoners with his knife, An Qingyu would shoot out threads to finish the job.
Although they hadn’t fought side by side before, their coordination was flawless and intuitive.
Lin Qiye gave An Qingyu a thumbs-up:
“Not bad, Qingyu.”
He didn’t expect their teamwork to flow so smoothly.
An Qingyu was clearly the perfect teammate custom-made for him.
An Qingyu smiled shyly at him.
Soon, under the assault of the two, the remaining prisoners surrendered outright.
Seeing their surrender, Lin Qiye signaled his allies to stop:
“That’s enough. Let the rest stay in the Fasting Institute for labor.”
Hearing this, An Qingyu immediately ceased dissecting.
Lin Qiye’s words had to be obeyed.
Except in certain situations, when Qiye shouted “Stop, don’t,”
Lin Qiye sealed Cao Yuan, who was radiating intense killing intent, and the latter’s gaze quickly cleared.
Lin Qiye raised his eyes to the high wall:
“While Master hasn’t returned, let’s get out of here quickly.”
He scaled the wall like a shadow on the eaves:
“Follow me.”
An Qingyu followed closely, matching Lin Qiye’s steps.
Cao Yuan and Bai Li Pangpang saw this and followed as well.
The three of them soon cleared the high wall.
Outside the Fasting Institute walls stretched a vast ocean.
With Lin Qiye’s ability in effect, the group was lifted by the air currents and carried toward the sea.
“Qiye,” An Qingyu said, his posture unsteady as he grabbed Lin Qiye’s wrist, “I’m a bit off balance.”
Lin Qiye immediately gripped An Qingyu’s wrist with the other hand, stabilizing him.
Cao Yuan, a bit puzzled, didn’t feel unbalanced as the wind lifted him.
Perhaps it was just a difference in physique.
He quickly dismissed the thought.
An Qingyu glanced at the point where their hands met, and the corner of his mouth curved upward.
Lin Qiye and An Qingyu held each other’s wrists like this, moving freely through the wind.
Lin Qiye furrowed his brow:
“This wind won’t last us long.”
“Qingyu,” he turned to look at An Qingyu, “I’m counting on you.”
The corner of An Qingyu’s mouth curved into a smile:
“Don’t worry, leave it to me, Qiye.”
He stretched out his hand and, using the power of frost, quickly formed an ice boat.
The group naturally landed on the ice boat.
Lin Qiye was about to pull back the hand gripping An Qingyu’s wrist, only to find it held tightly.
An Qingyu spoke, a little embarrassed:
“Qiye, I haven’t adjusted properly yet.”
Lin Qiye paused for a moment, then slowly nodded:
“Alright, then.”
He let An Qingyu hold onto his wrist.
Lin Qiye felt a little puzzled—
Was An Qingyu still feeling unsteady even on the boat?
Perhaps An Qingyu was afraid of heights just now but hadn’t said anything.
Thinking this, Lin Qiye used the Mortal Realm’s ability to catch a few fish from the sea.
“Pangpang, grill these,” Lin Qiye said, handing the fish over.
“Got it!” Bai Li Pangpang took them and started roasting the fish.
Cao Yuan sat cross-legged on the boat, watching An Qingyu holding Lin Qiye’s hand, a hint of confusion on his face:
“Qiye, why does he keep holding your hand?”
Lin Qiye replied casually:
“There’s no reason. If Qingyu wants to hold it, let him.”
He couldn’t exactly say that An Qingyu had probably been scared of heights just now and still hadn’t fully adjusted.
Suddenly, Cao Yuan had an idea:
“Qiye, I—”
An Qingyu abruptly withdrew his hand, interrupting what Cao Yuan was about to say:
“Qiye, thank you. I feel much better now.”
Only then did Cao Yuan realize that An Qingyu had likely been physically uncomfortable earlier.
His unfinished thought—”Qiye, can I hold your hand too?”, got stuck in his throat.
Cao Yuan suddenly felt a chill behind him.
He looked up and saw An Qingyu’s eyes filled with cold intensity.
But in an instant, the chill in An Qingyu’s eyes vanished, leaving Cao Yuan questioning whether he had imagined it.