Fang Yuan strode past her kneeling form towards Fang Ruì.
His voice cut through her desperate justification, flat and final: "I'm aware."
Lin Xi's head jerked up, stunned. He knew? He knew I saved her? Then why… why the destruction? Why the execution? Why point that sword at my heart?! The injustice screamed silently in her mind, a tempest of fear and fury.
As if reading her very thoughts, Fang Yuan paused beside the sleeping girl.
He didn't turn, but his words fell like stones into the silence, answering her unvoiced plea: "You breathe only because you stood up for yourself."
Lin Xi's breath hitched.
Before she could process the chilling meaning, before she could even blink, Fang Yuan and Fang Ruì were gone. Vanished.
Only a faint displacement of air and the lingering scent of ozone remained.
The immense pressure vanished.
Lin Xi collapsed forward, forehead pressing against the cool stone floor.
