"Wife! You're just in time—take us with you!"
Feng Kang, the old fox who'd schemed all his life, instantly knew what was coming when he saw Chen Cai step in.
But at that moment, the only thing he could do was pretend not to understand—clinging to his last shred of hope.
"Feng Kang, it's already too late. You tried to kill me first. I'm just defending myself," Chen Cai sighed deeply.
Hearing that, Feng Kang's expression turned cold. "Chen Cai… those leaks, it was you?"
"That's right," she said with a slight nod.
"You damn bitch!"
Feng Kang kicked over the table in front of him, the two bowls of instant noodles spilling across the floor.
"Damn it! Haven't I treated you well enough?! This is how you repay me?!"
"At a time like this, what's the point of talking nonsense? We're both far from innocent."
Chen Cai's voice was calm, detached.
"Mom! Please—please let me live!"
Feng Ruili had already dropped to his knees. The situation was clear—Chen Cai had come to kill them.
"Calling me 'Mom' now? Didn't you used to call me 'Auntie'?"
Chen Cai gave him a frosty look. "Didn't you say you'd buy me KFC before letting me go?"
Feng Ruili went pale.
"You idiot!"
Feng Kang slapped him across the face, then turned toward the men behind Chen Cai.
"How much did this cheap woman pay you? I'll give you ten times that! Grab her for me!"
Chen Cai merely shook her head. "You don't have any money left. Do it."
Her men moved in at once.
Outside, Xu Mu waited quietly.
Moments later, Chen Cai came out, her face expressionless.
She looked at Xu Mu with a distant, unfamiliar gaze.
"They say Xu Shou has a brilliant daughter—capable, destined to inherit everything," she murmured.
"I didn't expect he'd also have an even more terrifying son working behind the scenes. No wonder the Fengs lost."
"Everyone will assume it was the Dai family's doing," Xu Mu replied. "You don't need to carry that burden."
Chen Cai exhaled. "Other than drugging me at the start, Feng Kang did treat me decently.
Sure, he often brought other women home… but honestly, I did the same."
She looked up at the darkening sky, her voice soft. "What should I do next?"
"You can start over," Xu Mu said. "Or stay behind the scenes—it's your choice.
With Feng Yue around, you'll never go hungry."
"That girl is indeed capable," Chen Cai admitted, then noticed Xu Mu getting into his car.
"You're not going to check inside? Aren't you afraid I might have spared them?"
"I trust you," he said simply—and drove off.
Of course, he didn't really trust her. His perception had already told him the outcome.
By the time Xu Mu returned home, night had fallen.
Both the Porsche and the electric scooter were in the driveway—meaning Ye Tong and Ye Yu were back.
But the moment he opened the door, his eyes narrowed.
It wasn't his wives who greeted him.
It was the assassin from the Death List—Yun Wu.
Ye Tong and Ye Yu were tied up with rope, lying on the carpet.
Yun Wu held an axe pressed against Ye Tong's throat.
"Brother-in-law!" Ye Yu cried out as soon as she saw him.
"We're fine," Ye Tong said calmly, meeting Xu Mu's gaze.
Ironically, the most agitated person there wasn't them—but Yun Wu.
Her eyes were bloodshot, clearly from crying. When she saw Xu Mu, her emotions exploded.
"Xu Mu!" she roared, tears streaming down her face.
Back in the forest, she'd been half-conscious—but she'd seen him return.
He hadn't left. He came back.
And what he did after that was self-explanatory.
When Yun Wu woke, she had nearly killed herself out of disgust. The mere memory made her sick to her stomach.
"Kill yourself! Right now! Or I'll kill your women!" she screamed, trembling with rage.
"Calm down. I didn't do anything to you," Xu Mu said evenly.
Ye Tong and Ye Yu exchanged a look and subtly gestured toward him. Xu Mu understood immediately.
He pointed his right index finger to the left, pretending to rub his nose to conceal the signal.
"You expect me to believe that? You think I'm three years old?" Yun Wu spat.
"I'm not lying," Xu Mu said calmly. "I cured you using my own method."
"Cured me?" she sneered. "And how exactly did you do that?"
"Adapted to the situation."
"Adapted to the—?"
She repeated the words a few times, then her face flushed with rage.
"Move!"
Xu Mu charged while she was fuming.
Crack! Snap!
Ye Tong and Ye Yu shattered their ropes instantly, darting toward the staircase.
Their sudden burst of strength was so intense that the floor cracked beneath them.
Yun Wu froze, eyes wide. Before she could react, Xu Mu was already before her—one hand gripping the axe, the other around her neck.
"You two, stay here," he said calmly, dragging Yun Wu outside into the courtyard.
There, he released her.
"I've spared your life again," Xu Mu said.
"Xu Mu…"
"I didn't go all the way with you," he added. "If you don't believe me, we can go to a hospital for proof."
Yun Wu's face darkened. She still had her first time—and she'd heard that after the first, there would be pain.
Thinking back, she realized her body hadn't felt any different afterward.
But damn this man—he'd not only "checked for weapons," he'd even claimed to adapt to the situation!
Who could tolerate that?!
"Calm down. I want to show you something."
Xu Mu took out Feng Kang's phone, opened the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts app, and displayed the chat logs.
Yun Wu froze. "How do you have this phone?"
"To make sure your organization doesn't lose its standing," Xu Mu said, "and to make sure you can report mission success, I went to great lengths to get it."
He pointed to the "Mission Completed" option. "If I tap this, your assignment is officially done, right?"
Yun Wu stared, stunned. He could have killed her countless times—but hadn't.
"Xu Mu, why didn't you kill me?" she finally asked.
"Not only did I not kill you," Xu Mu said softly, "I also didn't kill Fan Shiyu."
Yun Wu blinked in surprise, then nodded slightly.
True enough—if Fan Shiyu had faced Xu Mu head-on, she'd have been dead within seconds.
"But… why?" she asked again.
"Because there's someone I like," Xu Mu said quietly, his tone suddenly deepening. "A woman in Moonlight Dancer."
He paused, eyes softening—as if reminiscing.
Of course, part of it was an act.
But still, there was truth in it—because it was that connection that made him spare Yun Wu again and again.