"Woof—"
Shenfeng, as if in perfect sync, sprang from behind Huo Rou.
Huo Rou rolled and sprang up with practiced ease. She could sense that Brother Han was being held back by Shenfeng, and reinforcements seemed to have arrived outside.
She made straight for Grandpa Nong’s side. A patch of blood had already spread on her shoulder, but she acted as if she felt nothing, her brow unfurrowed.
"Ah!!" Brother Han’s scream echoed through the courtyard. Shenfeng was on top of him, its sharp teeth gnawing relentlessly at his neck. The back of his hand was a bloody mess.
Huo Rou only had time to catch a glimpse of the black down jacket of the person entering through the door.
"Are you okay??" Huo Rou reached Grandpa Nong and quickly checked his condition. She fumbled in her pocket, took out a bottle of pills, and poured one out for him.
Grandpa Nong was old, and his underlying health issues, compounded by occupational ailments, couldn't withstand such a shock. "Quick, take one and breathe deeply!"
After taking the pill Huo Rou gave him, Grandpa Nong gasped for air, his earlier composure completely gone. He slumped down, his gaze filled with concern as he looked at Huo Rou's shoulder. "How do we treat this wound?"
He didn't know how to proceed. He could cut wheat without a problem, but treating a wound was another matter entirely.
Huo Rou shook her head, her eyes holding the same gentle light as always. "It's nothing serious."
Seeing the sudden shift in the situation, Xiao Zhu held Yao Jian and Pan Yue hostage. "Don't come any closer!"
Huo Rou gauged Xiao Zhu's position and tightened her grip on the dagger.
Xiao Zhu used Pan Yue as a shield against her. If she threw the dagger directly, the chances of avoiding Pan Yue were low. If only he would lean back just a little…
Huo Rou had already conceived many coordinated strategies in her mind, but in the end, she could only reluctantly clench the dagger in her hand. She had no teammates, and even her most trusted partner, Shenfeng, had Brother Han to contend with. With no one, how could there be coordination?
"I really miss it a little…" Huo Rou murmured softly. Just as she was contemplating other options, another gunshot rang out.
"Bang—"
The arm of Xiao Zhu, holding Pan Yue hostage, was hit by the gunshot. He winced in pain, his body recoiling half a step.
Now!
In a flash, Huo Rou threw the dagger she had prepared, directly into Xiao Zhu's neck. Blood spurted out, staining everything red.
"Ah! Blood!" Pan Yue, her arm lost, collapsed onto the ground, and was doused with blood. She screamed and fainted.
Huo Rou leaned forward and lifted the stunned Yao Jian.
Yao Jian looked at the bloodstains on Huo Rou's face and the crimson on her shoulder. He reached up and touched the warmth on his own face, stammering, "A Rou… you… you… you're so amazing!"
He had always thought Huo Rou was just an ordinary genius, skilled in computer technology and agricultural knowledge, but a delicate and gentle woman who couldn't lift a finger.
Today, that perception was shattered.
She wielded knives with such ferocity, and her movements were so agile.
Even her strength was immense; she had lifted him up with such ease!
But his legs felt like jelly!
Yao Jian's body slumped, about to fall to the ground. As Huo Rou reached out to catch him, a figure in a black down jacket appeared, catching the about-to-fall Yao Jian.
"Thank you." Yao Jian felt no strong emotions about the help and strength offered by another man. He let out a sigh of relief and thanked him.
The pressure on Huo Rou lessened, and the pain in her shoulder eased slightly. Due to their positioning, she had had to use her injured side to lift Yao Jian. The pulling and twisting had caused intense pain.
"Thank…" Huo Rou looked up, intending to express her gratitude for the two gunshots and the present help.
But as she looked up and met the deep, gentle eyes before her, her words caught in her throat.
"How…?" Her eyes were filled with disbelief, even feeling as if she were dreaming.
The person she had missed for so long suddenly appearing before her left her speechless.
Qin Ningyi's subordinates behind him discreetly took over Yao Jian. Qin Ningyi, now free, gently embraced Huo Rou, his arm carefully avoiding her shoulder. "I'm sorry, A Rou, I'm late."
He could have entered sooner. He had even disarmed himself, but before he could reach Grandma Nong's door, he saw the other party drugging the guards at the entrance. He had no choice but to lead his men to take down everyone providing backup outside.
The result…
Fortunately, he knew about the signal from that watch, and fortunately, he had picked up the call and heard An An's voice.
Huo Rou shook her head in his arms and murmured softly, "No…"
Qin Ningyi frowned upon hearing her voice. He immediately released her and stepped back. "Does it hurt a lot?"
He inwardly chided himself. If only he had entered a second earlier.
"No." Huo Rou lowered her head, unsure of what to say or do.
Qin Ningyi did not take her words as fact. "Your voice is trembling, and you're still lying to me?"
Huo Rou stopped arguing and closed her mouth. He could always see everything about her, whether it was sadness or pain…
Qin Ningyi took out medication from his person and pulled her jacket to begin treating her wound.
Yao Jian watched, dumbfounded, as this man expertly and possessively treated Huo Rou's wound. Although the wound looked frightening, Huo Rou's face showed no hint of "great pain." Not to mention, she had spoken those words so nonchalantly. Where was the trembling? Her voice was full of vigor!
Others couldn't hear the tremor, but Qin Ningyi was very familiar with it.
He had heard the same sound all those years ago…