There was no telling what Su Qing was thinking, even as his gaze swept over Su Ye's face intermittently.
Su Ye turned to look into his eyes, and slowly but carefully drew her sleeve out of his grasp. She was afraid of hurting him if she used too much strength. Through it all, she tried her best to maintain her smile, and repeated for the third time, "It's late now. I should really be going."
Even so, she did not dare to leave without his permission.
For his part, Su Qing was just standing there without saying a word. His intense gaze traveled over her face, settling on her eyes searchingly.
That gaze and demeanor…
He was acting as if she was going to abandon him.
Su Ye regretted her writing right then—why did she have to make him so handsome? Those good looks could easily lower anyone's guard.
A long while passed before Su Qing quietly asked, "Why aren't you leaving then?"
At that, Su Ye promptly answered, "I'm leaving now." Instantly, she ran all the way to the east, as if she was being chased.
The sickly man was thus left alone under the dimming sky in the center of the forest. Despite his good looks, he appeared so frail that it felt like the darkness would consume him if he was not paying attention. After some time, the man chuckled softly, looking even more breathtaking as his eyes gleamed.
Soon after Su Ye left, dozens of dark figures appeared. All of them exuded a murderous intent, and a single glance was enough to tell that they had been specially selected for their dangerous skills, yet they all knelt before that ill man who seemed like he would die from a single blow. "We were late—please forgive us, chieftain!"
They greeted Su Qing in perfect synchrony, and remained still after they spoke. All of them seemed cautious, as if they were very afraid of their leader. It took a while before they finally received a response from Su Qing—he was actually laughing! The men all inhaled sharply in fear, afraid to even move a muscle.
Su Qing slowly asked, "Am I that frightening?"
It became even more silent—one could probably hear a pin drop right there and then.
Su Qing's narrow eyes darkened as he casually glanced at a man dressed like a peasant, and asked slowly, "What do you think, Fei Chen?"
The man he questioned immediately rose from the ground. Fei Chen had served Su Qing for a long time, and he feared Su Qing more than anyone else. Walking up to Su Qing's side, he kept his head lowered as he answered, "No, chieftain, you are not scary."
Be that as it may, the forest became much quieter after he spoke.
Fei Chen was also keeping a distance between him and Su Qing, and did not reach out to help Su Qing stand even though he was ill.
Their chieftain hated others touching him despite his frail condition. He was very particular and set way too many ground rules, making him very hard to care for.
"We should return, chieftain," Fei Chen said finally. Even as he spoke, there was a flash of worry in his eyes as he studied Su Qing. A remote, insignificant place like this was really unsuitable for their chieftain to recuperate.
This time, Su Qing slowly grunted in agreement. With that, he headed towards the litter behind the black-clad men. Not only was it carried by tier-four martial-artists, it was embedded with tier-five crystals—treasures which martial artists would kill for.
Su Qing, however, was using those as protection for his litter. It was as outstandingly wasteful and extravagant.
As the sun set, the whole group disappeared in the depths of the forest of beasts, and were soon nowhere to be seen.