Yang Fan collapsed to the ground, his face a deathly pale. His eyes were filled with overwhelming fear, and his body trembled uncontrollably. He wanted to say something, but his mouth quivered for a long time, unable to form a single word. Overwhelming fear had completely enveloped him.

I thought he was just some ordinary beggar... but I never could have imagined. He's actually the Dragon Lord. A being who lives among the clouds.

A sudden wave of regret washed over Yang Fan. Why was I so foolish? Why did I have to come looking for Su Qingning? If I hadn't, I wouldn't have ended up in this situation. But who else can I blame?

Suddenly, Yang Fan burst into laughter—a sound that was desolate and utterly despairing.

The thought of begging for mercy didn't even cross his mind. He's the Dragon Lord, after all. Yang Fan knew that begging for mercy would be useless. He knew, with absolute certainty, that he was going to die today.

What a joke. Daring to covet the Dragon Lord's wife... Not even the gods can save me now.

"Must I die?" Yang Fan suddenly asked.

Lin Xiao nodded.

Yang Fan nodded as well. Although he had long anticipated this outcome, hearing the answer from Lin Xiao's own lips still struck a heavy blow to his heart, so much so that his body shuddered.

With a trembling hand, Yang Fan fumbled in his pocket for a pack of cigarettes. He tried several times but failed to light one. Lin Xiao took his lighter and lit the cigarette for him.

Yang Fan took a deep drag, and the trembling in his hands gradually subsided.

"Thank you," Yang Fan said after blowing a few smoke rings, his face ashen.

"You're welcome."

"Actually, I don't regret joining the Ghost Medicine Sect," Yang Fan began, opening up.

"I can tell."

"You know, even though I was born into a prominent family, I was just an illegitimate son. I never had a full meal until I was fourteen. Once, when I was starving, I went to find my father, only to be severely beaten. I still don't understand. We were all his children, so why did some get to live in luxury while others had to survive by digging through trash?"

This time, Lin Xiao didn't respond.

But Yang Fan continued his monologue. "Later, I joined the Ghost Medicine Sect. I have to thank my master for discovering my talent for cultivation and giving me a new lease on life. Believe it or not, I never did a single evil thing before then. My master always said that everything has cause and effect, that the evil I do today will be repaid to me many times over in the future. I never believed that, but today, I do."

"My master always wanted me to focus on my cultivation and become the top expert in the Ghost Medicine Sect. It's a shame... I ultimately let him down."

Yang Fan fell silent and began to chain-smoke, one cigarette after another.

After three cigarettes, he said, "No more talk. I'll go say goodbye to Su Qingning, and then I'll leave on my own."

"Alright, I'll go with you."

Yang Fan chuckled bitterly. "What, are you worried I still haven't given up? That I'll try to harm Su Qingning again?"

"Exactly," Lin Xiao said frankly.

"You really do love your wife. I used to think you weren't worthy of her, but now, it seems she's the one who isn't worthy of you."

"I love her," Lin Xiao stated simply.

Yang Fan nodded. The two of them left Su Qingning's office together.

Lin Xiao led him back to the door of the private room. He pushed it open. Inside, a group of young women was listening to Chu Xiangxue sing. They grew excited when they saw Lin Xiao. Shao Mei'er stood up, wanting to pull Lin Xiao into their party.

But Lin Xiao simply beckoned to Su Qingning.

Su Qingning quickly got up and walked over. "What's wrong?"

"Manager Yang is looking for you. He wants to have a word."

With a suspicious expression, Su Qingning followed Lin Xiao out of the room. When Yang Fan saw Su Qingning, he first gave her a deep bow, a gesture that baffled her completely.

"Miss Su, I'm sorry. I lied to you."

Su Qingning grew even more confused.

"The truth is, I never went to college or studied abroad. I have no experience running a bar," Yang Fan continued. "I'm sorry for betraying your trust."

Su Qingning's expression darkened. She was too shocked to speak.

Yang Fan added, "I came to apologize and to tender my resignation."

"But your injury—"

Before Su Qingning could finish, Yang Fan interrupted her. "It's nothing. In fact, it had nothing to do with you. I staged the whole thing. The goal was to make you feel moved, to make you feel guilty."

Su Qingning's expression darkened as she understood the implication of his words.

"Fine. You can go now," Su Qingning said coldly.

Yang Fan nodded. Filled with reluctance and despair, he took one last, deep look at Su Qingning's Dantian before turning to leave.

Lin Xiao didn't follow. He knew that even without his intervention, Yang Fan wouldn't live much longer. Back at the entrance to the security office, when Lin Xiao had gripped his vital point, he had already sealed his fate.

Su Qingning was clearly in a foul mood. Just as Lin Xiao was about to speak, she suddenly asked, "Lin Xiao, did you know all along there was something wrong with him?"

Her eyes were tinged with red. Lin Xiao didn't deny it, just nodded gently.

"Then why didn't you just tell me directly?"

"Because I was afraid you would think I was just being unreasonable," Lin Xiao said helplessly.

It was true. When he first learned Yang Fan's identity, he hadn't told Su Qingning immediately. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he just knew she had a good impression of Yang Fan. Otherwise, she wouldn't have hired him as the bar's manager and offered him such a high salary. If he had just bluntly told her that Yang Fan was trouble, she definitely wouldn't have believed him. In fact, she might have accused him of making a scene for no reason. So, he had kept it to himself.

Su Qingning's eyes grew even redder. "I'm so sorry," she choked out. "I didn't realize I was so awful that you felt you couldn't tell me the truth!"

Seeing her cry always made Lin Xiao panic. "Honey, it's not that serious," he said quickly. "I just didn't know what his motive for getting close to you was. I wanted to figure that out before I told you the truth."

"No, that's not it! I'm the one who's awful! I didn't trust you, and that's why you couldn't talk to me! I'm so, so sorry," Su Qingning sobbed.

Before Lin Xiao could speak, Su Qingning looked up, her eyes swimming with tears. "Honey, am I a huge disappointment to you?"

"How could that be? I can't even begin to express how much I like you. There's no way I could be disappointed," Lin Xiao quickly denied.

"Then... can you please keep liking me? Can you hold on to a little hope for me? I'll work hard to fix all my bad habits. I'll try my best to be worthy of you," Su Qingning pleaded, her gaze full of entreaty.

A tremor went through Lin Xiao's heart. He was truly and deeply moved.

"Alright. But first, Qingning, you have to promise me one thing."

"Anything! Just say it, I promise!"

"Anything at all?"

Su Qingning nodded firmly.

Lin Xiao's expression turned into a sly grin. "Then tonight... will you wear black stockings for your husband?"

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