Chapter 40: Qiongjue

The white-gold morning light gradually rose behind Han Xuan, revealing some dirt smeared on the skin at her ankles, yet it remained as smooth as ever.

Her long lashes fluttered as she looked at the woman before her, who was full of wariness. “Sorry.”

“What?”

Then, Han Xuan gently raised her hand.

Invisible specks of light seemed to dance at her fingertips. With just a touch in the air, Chu Susu looked as if her soul had been drawn out—her eyes went vacant in an instant, and she collapsed limply to the ground, passing out.

Han Xuan slowly walked over and helped her body up.

Her gaze lingered back and forth on the unconscious face with its slightly furrowed brows. She raised her hand again, gently smoothing them out.

“What am I?” Han Xuan murmured to herself, head lowered, repeating the words over and over.

She had never wanted to recall the events of the past.

But at this moment, her mind suddenly flashed back to a very, very long time ago, when someone had hurled stones at her viciously, shouting in disgust:

“What the hell are you?”

Even though they were just small pebbles, they battered her young body until it was covered in blood, carving ugly wounds into her skin—wounds that then healed at rapid speed.

Whispers and loud shouts filled the air everywhere: “Look, she doesn’t get hurt! She’s a demon!”

“A ghost!”

“A spirit!”

No, she would say. I’m human. I’m human, just like you, with a father and mother.

But no matter how many times she repeated those words, no one would believe her.

In the endless pain day after day, Han Xuan had long forgotten how to struggle or defend herself.

Until one moment, when a figure stood in front of her, picked up the stones from the ground, and hurled back everything she had suffered, sternly telling those people to scram.

Then turning back to her and saying, it’s okay now.

And that one person who had protected her was now looking at her like a stranger, asking the same question as everyone else.

“What are you?”

—Even if others don’t know, you should know.

“It’s okay.”

Han Xuan smiled, pulling her thoughts away from the memories. A misty red tinged the corners of her eyes as she said softly, “You just don’t remember me, that’s all.”

Chaos and dizziness, a world of confusion.

Chu Susu felt like she’d had a very long dream. When she opened her eyes, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled her nostrils.

“Where is this?”

She touched her head, which was wrapped in layers of bandages, and struggled to sit up—only to be firmly pressed back down by another hand.

Chu Susu squinted at the person beside her. “Sis?”

“Lie down properly. You’re not getting up.”

Chu Qingyang had clearly rushed over in a hurry, still wearing her police uniform without time to change. She sat by the hospital bed, looking at her sternly.

“This is… a hospital?” Chu Susu glanced around the spacious ward. “How’d you get here?”

Chu Qingyang said gravely, “How could I not come? You have a concussion.”

“What?”

Her temples throbbed painfully right now, her mind a total mess. For the moment, she couldn’t recall what had happened.

“Yesterday, your project team had a dinner gathering. Afterward, you were assaulted and knocked out.”

“…Right.” She remembered the baseball bat reflected in the car window. But what happened after that?

Chu Qingyang continued, “The thug locked you in the car before fleeing. Luckily, Miss Han called the police in time to save you. Otherwise, who knows what could’ve happened.”

Before Susu woke up, that slender, fragile-looking girl had already explained the whole sequence of events to her.

…

“Susu gave me a birthday gift, so I wanted to call and thank her, but I couldn’t get through. I checked with the others—they said the dinner was over, but Susu was nowhere to be found. I got worried something had happened to her and called the police in a panic.”

“Thank you for your vigilance.”

“You’re too kind.”

…

Han Xuan? Hearing that name snapped everything back into Chu Susu’s mind.

The abandoned warehouse, the thug who’d inexplicably pinned her down, the purple glow that filled the sky—those phenomena that defied all reason…

Through the glass on the door, she glimpsed a familiar figure sitting quietly outside, waiting without interrupting the sisters’ conversation.

“Have you caught the guy who attacked me?” Chu Susu turned to ask.

“We got him.”

She suddenly remembered something crucial. “Right, Sis, what time is it now?”

“11:30. Why?”

“Crap. I’ve got a client presentation at 1.” Chu Susu bolted upright. “I need to get there.”

The project she’d been on for months was just one final step from completion.

But Chu Qingyang shook her head firmly. “No way. You have a concussion—where do you think you’re going? Let someone else handle the presentation.”

“How can I? This is my project. Handing it off now would be ridiculous.”

“Chu Susu!” Chu Qingyang said sternly.

“I’m awake now. I’m fine.”

“You’re out of your mind!”

“This is important to me!”

“More important than your life?”

Two pairs of similar eyes locked on, neither backing down.

Chu Qingyang had raised her, and though their temperaments differed greatly, the same blood ran through their veins—they were essentially identical at the core.

Stubborn as hell, both of them.

“All the materials for today’s presentation were prepared by me. No one on the team can step up last-minute.”

“Hand it off to the project lead to deal with. Either way, you’re resting—no negotiations.” Chu Qingyang’s tone was final, brooking no argument. She called out toward the door, “Miss Han?”

Han Xuan entered at the sound.

Chu Qingyang straightened her uniform, stood, and nodded to her. “I have urgent work and can’t take leave—I’ve got to go now. If you’re free, could I trouble you to look after Susu for a bit?”

It was the busiest day at work, and Fang Chen was out of town on a business trip, unavailable.

“No problem at all. I’d be happy to.”

Chu Qingyang breathed a sigh of relief. “Perfect. One more thing to ask of you—please keep an eye on Susu and make sure she rests properly. No work presentation today.”

Chu Susu frowned instantly. “Sis!”

“Listen to how weak your voice is. Get back in bed.” Chu Qingyang shot a glance at the person on the bed, not giving her a chance to argue. “Miss Han, I’ll take my leave. Goodbye.”

“Mm, goodbye, Officer Chu.”

After Chu Qingyang left, only the two of them remained in the room.

Only then did Chu Susu notice the transparent little lunchbox in Han Xuan’s hand, filled with pumpkin porridge—her favorite.

“Have something to eat first.”

Han Xuan didn’t meet her eyes, just set the lunchbox aside.

For a moment, the atmosphere hung stiff and stagnant.

After a long while, Chu Susu finally picked it up, bringing it to her lips and taking small sips with the spoon.

Chu Qingyang had said she was found locked in her own car, which meant Han Xuan must have brought her out of the warehouse and covered up what really happened.

Chu Susu’s feelings were complicated. In the end, she looked at Han Xuan, breaking the silence. “Thank you for saving me.”

That abandoned warehouse was in such a remote spot that, without Han Xuan, even if she could pick the lock, she couldn’t have escaped to call the police.

“No need to thank me for that.”

Han Xuan said softly, burying her head even lower, a wry smile tugging at her lips. “I should be the one saying sorry… I scared you.”

She was still wearing the same skirt, the dirt cleaned off but the tears from branches still visible on the hem.

Chu Susu took it all in, and her heart suddenly softened.

“You don’t need to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She asked, “Does it still hurt anywhere?”

Han Xuan froze, then shook her head obediently in a way that tugged at the heartstrings. “I’m fine.”

How could she be fine? Even without lasting injuries, getting flung by a car wasn’t pleasant.

Chu Susu asked again, “How did you… find me back then?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized it was a dumb question. Han Xuan clearly had abilities beyond the ordinary, so locating her probably wasn’t hard.

Chu Susu smiled and changed the subject. “Never mind. Let’s talk about that thug instead. I don’t know him—why would he kidnap me? Do you know anything?”

Han Xuan nodded.

“Someone else hired him to do it.”

Chu Susu’s eyes lowered. “Jack?”

“You guessed it?”

“Yeah, I don’t usually make enemies, and it was such a special day today. Who else but him?”

Plus, that thug had been so hesitant, just locking her up without taking her valuables. What kind of desperado worries about skirting the edge of the law while kidnapping someone?

It matched Jack’s dithering, half-assed personality perfectly.

As for his scheme, it was obvious: make Chu Susu taste the same bitterness, then step in while she was out.

The thug had tossed her phone. She glanced at the clock on the hospital wall—it was nearly noon.

“Han Xuan,” she said. “Could I ask you for one more favor?”

The instant Han Xuan met her eyes, she understood what Chu Susu wanted.

“You’re still set on going to that presentation?”

Layers of white bandages wrapped around her long hair, tying it back behind her head.

“Mm.” Chu Susu enunciated each word carefully, clenching her right hand into a tight fist. Her face was somewhat haggard, yet it radiated determination. “I must go.”

Perhaps even Chu Qingyang couldn’t understand—wasn’t it just a routine report?

After something like this happened, no one would blame her for skipping it. Everyone would just tell her to rest and recover properly.

But Chu Susu refused to back down.

She wasn’t that obsessed with work, but this minor setback wouldn’t defeat her.

What belonged to her was hers. No one had ever been able to stop her from doing what she wanted.

Chu Qingyang had often said that the overly rigid are easily broken, advising her not to be so unyielding at times. Chu Susu didn’t deny it, but she had no intention of changing.

Otherwise, she would’ve already put on a fake smile and gone on that blind date at Chu Zhen’s request.

She wouldn’t have clung to Pipi and let herself be driven out of the house by Chu Zhen on a rainy day, all rather than compromise.

Unexpectedly, Han Xuan didn’t say anything like “get some rest” or ask why. She simply nodded.

“Alright,” she said. “How do you want to do this?”

“Do you have a way to make me temporarily stop feeling the headache?”

In fact, with her current dizziness, Chu Susu could barely get out of bed. Forget giving the report—she’d probably pass out again before even reaching the door.

“Yes, but it’ll cost you.”

“What cost?”

“Afterward, the pain will be three times worse than it is now.”

That hardly counted as a price. Chu Susu didn’t even blink. “Do it.”

Han Xuan placed her hand in front of Chu Susu’s brow, hovering without touching. Yet a soft holy light bloomed before their eyes.

She gazed into Chu Susu’s eyes, as if beholding a sunflower—unyielding and ever-striving upward.

Even battered by floods, nothing could halt its solar aspiration. Once the waves receded, it would rise again.

Her voice, gentle and crisp like recited poetry, fell: “Very well, then go.”

Her fingers traced a complex pattern before returning to the brow.

“If this is truly what you want.”

The moment the ritual completed, all of Chu Susu’s discomfort vanished. She tore off the bandages, stretched her limbs, rolled off the bed, and landed on her feet.

“Thanks.”

Gazing at Han Xuan’s face, an unfamiliar feeling stirred in her heart. Then, as always, she smiled.

“Feels like…” Chu Susu said, “you always get me.”

Han Xuan said nothing, simply staring at her radiant smile in a daze.

—Of course.

Because you haven’t changed, not from the very start.