That was an incident that happened around Bai Ming.

When the flash of light swept before his eyes, Bai Ming instinctively raised his hand. The consequences of bare hands clashing against a blade were painfully obvious.

But "retreat" wasn’t in Bai Ming’s dictionary. What he aimed to do wasn’t foolishly reckless—it was to eliminate the nuisance before him and find Bai Ruoshui as quickly as possible. He showed no mercy to enemies who attacked without warning. If he crushed this guy into pulp along with his blade? Well, that’d be on him.

Yes. This punch, thrown in an instant with murderous intent, would make the fool before him taste something far worse than death.

Respect was mutual among people—especially when lives hung in the balance.

"Shen Yuan Style…"

Yet at those three words, Bai Ming yanked his hand back, stumbling several steps away.

"C-could it be…"

Ah. He hadn’t mistaken it. If anything could jolt his nerves like this besides clues about his sister, it was this name alone.

*Shen Yuan.*

"Eh? That voice…?"

The attacker recognized Bai Ming too. The blade’s glow halted abruptly just before his head. Residual energy, however, sliced off a few millimeters of his bangs.

"…"

"AHHHHHHHHHH! I-I’M SO SORRY! SO SORRY!!!!!!"

The reckless figure let out a shriek. Under the dim light, Bai Ming finally saw her clearly—glossy black hair, crimson eyes, two tall fox ears standing upright, and a fluffy tail swaying nonstop behind her…

"Shen Yuan… Featherfox…"

Bai Ming stammered her name, instinctively stepping back again.

This wasn’t fear. It was meeting the absolute worst person he could imagine, at the worst possible time, in the worst possible place. The situation couldn’t be more disastrous. He had to run. Before she said anything terrible…

"Why is Bai Ming here…?"

"Ugh…"

He’d tried so hard to avoid her questions—yet she’d asked anyway.

*What… what do I do…? Running into her now is awful. Absolutely awful. I need to bolt… before things escalate.*

"Are you here to hunt down Li Scar’s remnants too?"

"Ah… this is unbearable…"

He couldn’t calm down. Pacing the corridor, his pale face flushed deep purple then sickly green. Muscles twitched across his jaw. Veins throbbed at his temples. His earlier calm vanished, replaced by storm clouds gathering over his features and heart. The gentleness in his eyes had long faded, leaving nothing but complaints.

"Bai Ming…"

"Ah—stop! Stop! Don’t ask, please, Miss Shen Yuan. Just… don’t ask."

Telling her his purpose brought zero benefit. Honestly, him not causing trouble would be a miracle. The best move now? Ignore her. Take another path alone. Find the owner of this building.