Chapter 26: Even an Upright Official Finds It Hard to Judge Women and Ghosts (Part Two)

After spitting up blood, Gao Lan could no longer maintain her seated posture; her body went limp, and she collapsed directly into Yan Tian’s arms.

Yan Tian took a deep breath, circulating his internal energy at high speed. He shook off the droplets of blood that had splattered onto his face, sending them falling onto the bed and staining the sheets crimson.

Holding her soft, delicate frame, he felt that her body was alarmingly feverish, her skin flushed a sickly shade of pink.

Yan Tian chuckled and said, "So you’ve suffered a cultivation deviation? What’s the big deal?" As he spoke, he placed one hand against her life-gate point, channeling a steady, gentle stream of energy into her to soothe the chaotic currents rampaging through her meridians.

Gao Lan closed her eyes and let out a soft moan, appearing to find it immensely relieving.

Although Yan Tian could only use his energy to help her stabilize the turbulence without leaving any of his own essence within her, this act effectively branded her subconscious with the mark of "Young Master Yan." From this day forward, she would never trust anyone else with her internal cultivation.

This, of course, was exactly what Yan Tian had anticipated.

He had known that Gao Lan was at a critical juncture in her practice, so he had deliberately provoked her to trigger a cultivation deviation. Then, while she was busy trying to regulate her internal energy, he had utilized a soul-seizing technique.

Under the stimulation of Yan Tian’s overwhelmingly powerful energy, Gao Lan’s disrupted meridians were rescued just in time.

Normally, as a disciplined and organized assassin, Gao Lan possessed an exceptionally firm will. If not for the initial cultivation deviation, Yan Tian could never have succeeded so easily in seizing her soul, nor could he have caused her to lose her composure so completely in front of an enemy.

He finally steeled himself with indomitable spirit and firm resolve.

"Why help me?" Gao Lan asked after a moment of ragged breathing, her eyes still closed.

Yan Tian rubbed his nose, forcing himself to look away. "Because I just killed your brother, so I suppose I’m repaying the Gao family by saving one life."

Gao Lan was startled; she sat up abruptly, trembling violently. "What did you say? You... you killed my brother?"

"That’s right!" Yan Tian turned his head, staring into Gao Lan’s eyes with absolute sincerity. "I hope you can understand. After all, not everyone enjoys having a swarm of cockroaches buzzing around them, causing trouble. I had no choice. I want to live a happy life; I don't want my own courtyard blown to pieces by machine guns and explosives, so I had to strike first. Do you understand what I mean?"

Gao Lan stared blankly for a long time before finally shaking her head in resignation. She sighed, "You should run."

"Run? Don't be ridiculous. Why would I run?" Yan Tian scoffed with disdain.

Gao Lan lowered her head. "Old Master Gao Qisheng only had one son. You killed him, and he will never let you go. You know as well as I do that Old Master Gao has endless wealth and immense influence. If he decides to deal with you, he can mobilize forces beyond anything you could possibly imagine."

Yan Tian nodded. "The police chief is your eldest brother-in-law, the president of the city court is your second brother-in-law, the mayor is your father’s comrade-in-arms, and you are the actual controller of the largest criminal syndicate in A City. I know, your Gao family is wealthy and powerful indeed!"

He had learned these inside details from Leng Bingtong. As a police officer, she was well aware of such networks.

"Since you know all this, why be so reckless?" Gao Lan didn't know what she was thinking, but she found herself urging this youth—whom she had originally been sent to kill—to flee. "Even if your martial arts are formidable, how many people can you hold off? A SWAT team? A whole company? Do you have any idea how many guns the gangs under my command possess? Do you know the sheer scale of the power the Old Master can mobilize in both the underworld and the establishment? Even if you were an invincible Superman, what about the girls who are with you? Are they as strong as you? Are you certain you can protect them?"

By the end, her tone carried a hint of resentment.

Yan Tian gave her a meaningful look and said slowly, "Besides you, no one knows that I was the one who killed Gao Qian."