Our Sihan--

Li Sihan was panting as Jun Ru hastily laid her onto the bed, taking Little Bun from her hands and laying her beside her sister. Little Bun reached out worriedly and took Li Sihan's hand, murmuring affectionately.

"Jun Ru," Li Sihan called with difficulty.

"Grand Chief, I am here!" Jun Ru knelt by the bed.

"I need-- something that-- can produce cold energy--" Li Sihan coughed up another mouthful of blood. Jun Ru hastily wiped it off. Li Sihan looked really helpless.

"The Soul Transfer Matrix is burning -- burning my soul essence --!"

Jun Ru disappeared from the room. Li Sihan started to drift into unconsciousness, feeling the Soul Transfer Matrix burning her. Hah. So the Scorpion Hall actually had this last trump card.

Li Sihan withdrew her presence into her Oasis. She noticed the Transfer Matrix jade in her conscious. It was beaming red hot. Li Sihan inhaled deeply and started creating waves of ice energy with the little strength she had left. The Oasis soon became turbulent as the Matrix jade flew everywhere as it avoided the icy energy.

"--ef!"

Li Sihan raised her head.

"--Chief!"

Oh, seems like that dumb boy was back. She exited her oasis and returned to her body.

"Grand Chief!" Jun Ru was pale, with sweat at seeing her rigid, lifeless figure. Then the person started breathing again and her eyelashes fluttered open.

"---" Jun Ru clutched his chest. His heart had started to palpitate. The Seniors back at Headquarters would chase him to the seventeen levels of hell if the Grand Chief died under his watch. No no, why was he even thinking such inauspicious things?

Li Sihan sat up by herself and held out her upturned palm to Jun Ru. The ace mercenary immediately delivered the pure white 700 year old glacier fruit into her hand.

Chom, chom. Li Sihan was unaware of how cute she looked right now, with her slightly disheveled hair covering her eyes as she munched on the glacier fruit. Little Bun, dozing off beside her, heard the telltale sounds of eating and sat up at once.

"Yeet!" She cackled happily. Li Sihan shook her head.

"No way. Not this. This is not a snack,"

Little Bun squashed her fist into her mouth and made a pitiful face.

"Peesh!" (Please!) "Bun Bun be good. Let Bun Bun yeet!"

Li Sihan cocked her head to one side and seemed to be contemplating the matter.

"Well, you have a good foundation, so it won't hurt you," and she stuffed the rest into the baby's eager waiting hands.

"----!!!" Jun Ru's eyes grew wide! Enlightenment, this was enlightenment! Who fed glacier fruit to a baby, no matter how great her so called 'foundation' was?! And why was the baby burping happily after devouring it?! Were her meridians not supposed to be undergoing an ice cold baptism? From what mould were these two oddballs carved?

"Jun Ru," the mention of his name by the yama made his hair stand on end.

"Yes, Grand Chief?" He lowered his head respectfully.

"Go back and tell those Seniors of yours to meet up with me at the Li Manor in the capital. I want to see all of them there,"

"Yes, Grand Chief!" Jun Ru received the order and rose, departing from the room speedily.

Master Li and Master Lan concluded their business in a hurry. Lan Huifan kept laughing at odd intervals -- it was clear that he was exceedingly happy. Madam Lan did not quite share her husband's enthusiasm, however. Her eyes turned red when Madam Li told her they were leaving. She cursed those damn assassins five hundred generations in her heart. This would have been the absolute best way to get her Lan Chen betrothed to Li Sihan! How unfortunate! How unfortunate!

Li Zhenming gave his wife an heads up and told her to talk to her daughter in the event that they could perhaps understand what happened exactly that night the assassins came.

"Li Sihan,"

"Yes mother?" the stoic responded.

"We have a lot to talk about,"

"Is this about Lan Chen again?" The air changed. Jun Ru had not understood it, when he was still around. Why was the Grand Chief not leaving? Why was she sticking with this Li couple?

"No, it's not about the Lan boy," Ren Zimimg felt goosebumps on the back of her neck. It was midday! Why did she feel as if she was in a nightmare?

"What then?" The young girl concentrated on stroking Little Bun's small head devotedly.

Ren Ziming rubbed her aching forehead. It was like she was talking to a wall.

"How-- how come you were able to defeat those assassins?" She said in a rush. Speaking about it was troublesome. Her heart still raced.

"What do you mean?"

"Agh! You! You've never held a sword in your life, Sihan! You're just eight years old! How come you can kill! Those were human beings, those were people! They were almost thirty! And you killed them all, Sihan! You didn't even whimper!"

"Hah," Li Sihan scoffed, "I see now,"

Ren Ziming frowned angrily. What the hell was she seeing?

"I didn't know your daughter never held a sword," Li Sihan finally said.

Ren Ziming flinched. The tone was different. It was as if a huge mountain was pressing down on her chest. Blood drained from her face.

"--Sihan--"

"Yes?" Li Sihan looked straight back at Ren Ziming with her pitch black eyes that could drown a soul.

Ren Zimimg was suffocating. She clutched her chest in horror. Li Sihan withdrew the oppressive aura. Ren Zimimg felt the pressure on her chest lifting, as if it had never been there. But she couldn't deny what she had seen and felt.

Master Li came into the gazebo.

"It's time to leave, Ziming,"

The butler led the four Lis to the carriage waiting outside the Li Manor. The Lan family were standing by it to see them off.

"It was a pleasure having you, Master Li," Lan Huifan had a huge smile on his face as he formally bowed. Li Zhenming cupped his hands to him.

"I will be looking forward to hosting you anytime you visit the Imperial Capital,"

They exchanged brief pleasantries while Rui Danyi approached the Li family women with Lan Chen in tow.

"Please have a safe trip, Madam Li," Lan Chen bowed. Madam Li smiled. Li Sihan climbed into the carriage.

"Visit us, Danyi," Ren Ziming urged madam Lan, "when you come to the capital. I will introduce you to some of my friends,"

"I will!" Rui Danyi nodded, "I will write to you,"

"Great! Goodbye,"

Li Zhenming and his wife also entered the carriage and the driver pulled the reins of the horse.