Dai Yin remained kneeling on the ground.
She still said to Chen Jinzhao, "General Chen, I hope you can be merciful and not kill Ji Bo'an. If you must kill someone, kill me instead."
Chen Jinzhao looked at Ji Bo'an with confusion and asked, "Then do you know what Ji Bo'an has actually done?"
Dai Yin choked back a sob, "I know, I know everything."
"But I can assure you, Ji Bo'an has never killed a good person by mistake. All those he targeted were wicked and evil."
Chen Jinzhao let out a laugh, "So, according to you, I am one of the wicked and evil?"
Hearing this, Dai Yin's face turned even paler. She quickly denied, "No, no, no, that's not what I meant. I just want to say that apart from this matter, Ji Bo'an has made no other mistakes. If you truly wish to kill someone, please kill me."
Chen Jinzhao was puzzled.
Ji Bo'an had become a running dog of the Divine Kingdom, so why was Dai Yin pleading with him to spare his life?
If not for Chen Jinzhao's strength, he would have already perished at Ji Bo'an's hands.
Ji Bo'an was still whispering, telling Dai Yin not to kneel before Chen Jinzhao.
Chen Jinzhao raised his hand and helped Dai Yin up. Her eyes were red and she didn't know what to say. Seeing this, Chen Jinzhao said, "Earlier, when you spoke with me in the living room, you warned me, making me wary of the Ji family. I owe you a favor for that. However, the Divine Kingdom organization that Ji Bo'an belongs to is my enemy, and I must uproot them."
"As Ji Bo'an is a lackey of the Divine Kingdom, I have countless reasons to kill him."
Dai Yin's face grew even paler.
Ji Bo'an let out a laugh, believing that after his death, Chen Jinzhao would spare Dai Yin.
That was enough.
The next moment.
Chen Jinzhao changed his tone, his gaze falling on Ji Bo'an, "However, I believe what Dai Yin said. You only need to give me one reason not to kill you, and I will let you go."
Ji Bo'an and Dai Yin looked up at Chen Jinzhao in unison, as if they couldn't believe these words were coming from his mouth.
They momentarily thought their ears were playing tricks on them.
"What did you say?" Dai Yin repeatedly confirmed.
Chen Jinzhao said calmly, "You should have heard me clearly. I don't want to repeat myself."
Dai Yin became instantly excited.
She quickly looked at Ji Bo'an, who was pinned to the wall. Chen Jinzhao walked over and removed the steel pipe that was impaling him. Dai Yin also rushed over to embrace the weak Ji Bo'an, crying, "Bo'an, quickly tell General Chen that you haven't wrongly killed any good person all these years."
Did Ji Bo'an not wish to live?
His lips moved, hesitating to speak. Chen Jinzhao said, "Don't you want to live? Do you want a quick death? I can grant you that too."
"You jest. If one could live, who would choose to die?" Ji Bo'an gave a wry smile.
"It's just that—"
"There are some things I only wish to tell you, and not have Dai Yin hear."
Dai Yin looked at Ji Bo'an with confusion. Ji Bo'an said softly, "Dai Yin, please excuse us for a moment. You cannot listen to what follows. Don't worry, I will try my best to survive and will not abandon you."
Chen Jinzhao also said, "Dai Yin, you should go out for now."
Dai Yin could only nod and turned to leave the courtyard.
Ji Bo'an, supporting his wavering body, got up and knelt before Chen Jinzhao again, repenting for his foolish actions. Chen Jinzhao did not stop him, but sighed, "You have a wife who loves you dearly. You should not betray her."
Ji Bo'an nodded, still with a bitter smile, "You are right. Dai Yin truly loves me, and I love her very much."
The reason Chen Jinzhao hadn't killed Ji Bo'an was, on one hand, because he believed Dai Yin's words, and on the other, he wanted to understand what Ji Bo'an had experienced all these years. As far as he knew, Ji Bo'an was once a paragon of gentleness, integrity, and frugality, widely renowned in the three northern provinces. It was only in recent years that he had changed.
Something must have happened in between.
"Tell me, I'm curious," Chen Jinzhao said.
Ji Bo'an knelt on the ground, his mouth bitter, "If I told you that everything I've done was for Dai Yin, would you believe me?"
Chen Jinzhao's eyes widened in surprise but quickly calmed down.
Without waiting for Ji Bo'an to continue, Chen Jinzhao said, "If I'm not mistaken, the Divine Kingdom has controlled Dai Yin?"
"You understand the ways of the Divine Kingdom. They have always been such despicable and shameless people," Ji Bo'an said helplessly, explaining the reason to Chen Jinzhao. When he started dating Dai Yin, he had already been targeted by people from Divine Kingdom Pharmaceuticals. Because Ji Bo'an was a man of deep affection and loyalty, Dai Yin naturally became his weakness.
Later on.
Dai Yin was poisoned by people from the Divine Kingdom Research Institute, forcing Ji Bo'an to do things he was unwilling to do. Through this method, the Divine Kingdom Research Institute was able to easily control the Ji family, turning them into puppets of the institute.
Ji Bo'an's tragedy began at this point.
If Ji Bo'an refused to obey the orders and commands of the Divine Kingdom Research Institute, Dai Yin would surely die.
Chen Jinzhao's heart grew heavy upon hearing this.
Ji Bo'an was like a mirror, reflecting another side of Chen Jinzhao.
If Chen Jinzhao could not protect those around him, then Dai Yin's fate would be the same as Yu Mengzhi and the others.
And Chen Jinzhao, due to his deep affection and loyalty, would be unable to escape the manipulation of the Divine Kingdom.
"Truly despicable and shameless!" he said in a low voice.
Ji Bo'an looked at Chen Jinzhao, hesitating for a moment, and then said, "I have something to say, and I don't know if I should. Sometimes, strong emotions are indeed the greatest weakness for people like you and me. Perhaps, in the future decisive battle against the Divine Kingdom, we may have to cast these aside."
"Let's not talk about that for now. Dai Yin doesn't know she's been poisoned, does she?" Chen Jinzhao shook his head, not wanting to dwell on it. If he didn't care about emotions, would he still be himself?
Ji Bo'an nodded.
He implored Chen Jinzhao to keep this a secret and not to tell Dai Yin any of these matters.
Chen Jinzhao stood in the cold wind for a while. His vision gradually blurred, making it difficult for him to discern Ji Bo'an's expression. He forced himself to say, "As I said earlier, if I wanted to kill you, I would have countless reasons. But if you give me one reason not to kill you, I will forgo killing you."
In the past, Chen Jinzhao would have definitely killed Ji Bo'an.
However, he saw a reflection of himself in Ji Bo'an, and therefore decided to spare his life.
"You are safe now," Chen Jinzhao said.
Ji Bo'an was overwhelmed with gratitude, as it meant he could stay with Dai Yin. "Thank you for your leniency. I promise that from now on, I will have no further dealings with the Divine Kingdom, and I will also no longer concern myself with the affairs of the Ji family. You may deal with the Ji family as you see fit."
Chen Jinzhao grunted.
An obedient Ji family would be of great use to him.
Upon receiving the notification, Dai Yin returned to the courtyard. Chen Jinzhao told her to send Ji Bo'an to the hospital for treatment, and he himself prepared to leave.
Dai Yin complied and arranged for Ji Bo'an to be taken away.
Before Chen Jinzhao left, Dai Yin stopped him and, with a thud, knelt before him once again.
This surprised Chen Jinzhao greatly.
"How could you..."
Dai Yin, unable to hide her grief, looked at Chen Jinzhao with tear-filled eyes, "Lord Chen, did Bo'an tell you about me? Actually, this story has another version. I wonder if you would be willing to listen?"