The aftermath of the Imperial Club raid left the capital's elite in a state of paralysis. Han Haotian had been dragged out in handcuffs, and Si Weixuan had been forced to retreat under military escort. But the atmosphere at Mount Jing remained taut.
Mu Feichi stood in his study, staring at a satellite feed of the capital's international airport. Beside him, Jiang Chenhuan was tapping rapidly on a tablet, his brow furrowed.
"He's not waiting for the official diplomatic window, Feichi," Chenhuan said. "A private Gulfstream just entered our airspace. No flight plan, no customs clearance. It's using a high-level military override code."
"The Xiao family code," Mu Feichi muttered, his eyes narrowing. "He's early."
Shen Xi walked into the room, her arm still in the black sling. She had been studying the internal chemistry of the ghost poison, trying to understand why Mu Feichi's recovery had been so aggressive. "Who's early?"
"Xiao Jinglin," Mu Feichi replied, turning to her. "The man the Si family calls their protector. My mentor... and the most dangerous man in the Southern District
The arrival of Xiao Jinglin was not the diplomatic landing the capital had expected. Instead of a formal motorcade, a fleet of black, unmarked armored vehicles tore across the tarmac of the private military hangar, coming to a screeching halt just meters away from Mu Feichi's line of elite, olive-green guards.
The cabin door of the heavy transport aircraft hissed open. A man stepped out, his presence immediately flattening the air around him. Though he was in his mid-40s, he carried the tempered weight of a man who had survived a hundred battlefields. His face was sharp, his jawline like chiseled granite, and his eyes—the exact, haunting shade of amber as Shen Xi's—scanned the horizon with a cold, piercing intelligence.
"Feichi," Xiao Jinglin said, his voice a low, resonant baritone that commanded instant silence. "I heard you were dead. I came to see if I needed to burn this city to the ground in your honor, or if you've simply grown soft in your old age."
"I learned from the best, Master Xiao," Mu Feichi replied, stepping forward with his hands behind his back, his posture unyielding. "It takes more than a few mercenaries and a chemical cocktail to put me in the ground."
Xiao Jinglin's gaze shifted. It moved past the soldiers, past the high-ranking officers, and landed directly on Shen Xi.
The moment their eyes met, the world seemed to tilt. Xiao Jinglin, a man known for his legendary emotional detachment, felt a sudden, inexplicable jolt in his chest—a strange, phantom resonance he hadn't felt in nearly twenty years. It wasn't logic or memory; it was a primal, biological pull that made the air in his lungs feel tight.
He walked toward her, his heavy boots clicking rhythmically on the tarmac. He ignored the dozen rifles that instinctively tracked his movement. He stopped less than a meter away from Shen Xi, peering into her face with a terrifying, narrowed intensity.
This girl... he thought, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He saw the curve of her nose, the tilt of her chin, and the defiant fire in her eyes. It was like looking at a ghost from a past he had tried to bury.
"So," Xiao Jinglin whispered, his voice losing its thunder and becoming dangerously quiet. "This is the physician who performed a miracle. You have a very familiar way of looking at people, little girl. As if you've already weighed their souls and found them lacking."
Shen Xi didn't lower her head. She felt a strange heat behind her eyes—a mixture of the child's longing she had suppressed and the surgeon's cold analysis. "I don't need to weigh souls, Mr. Xiao. I only look at the anatomy. And right now, your blood pressure is rising. You should be careful; the capital's air doesn't agree with everyone."
Xiao Jinglin felt a rare smirk touch his lips. The girl was a thorn—sharp, beautiful, and unafraid.
:
Suddenly, Si Weixuan stepped out from the shadow of Xiao Jinglin's lead guard. Her face was a mask of calculated grief. "Uncle! You can't let her charm you! This girl is a viper. She worked with Han Haotian to stage the attack on the Young Marshal just so she could 'save' him and gain his trust. She's trying to infiltrate the military's top tier!"
Xiao Jinglin didn't turn to look at his niece. He kept his eyes fixed on Shen Xi. "My niece says you are a traitor. My sister's family says you are a fraud. And yet, when I look at you, I feel like I'm looking at the only honest thing in this entire city."
"Uncle!" Si Weixuan gasped, her face turning pale.
"Silence," Xiao Jinglin barked, the sound making the soldiers jump. He turned his gaze back to Mu Feichi. "Feichi, I came here to protect the Si family because they are my kin by marriage. But I find myself curious about this girl. I want her brought to the Southern Embassy for a formal inquiry."
Mu Feichi stepped in front of Shen Xi, his shadow eclipsing her. The temperature around him seemed to drop. "She is my personal physician, Master Xiao. And she is under the protection of the Northern District's highest command. If you want her, you'll have to declare war on the person you trained."
Xiao Jinglin's eyes flashed with a dark, competitive fire. "Are you threatening me for a girl, Feichi?"
"I am protecting what is mine," Mu Feichi replied, his hand resting on his sidearm.
Before the tension could snap, Jiang Chenhuan ran forward, his face grim. "Marshal! Master Xiao! We have a breach! The Shen family villa hasn't just been leveled—someone has released a secondary airborne agent in the ruins. It's a variant of the Ghost Pulse, and it's spreading toward the residential district. The only way to stop it is the original formula found in the Yun family's hidden lab."
Shen Xi's eyes widened. "They're trying to force me to open the Yun vaults. They know I'm the only one with the biometric key."
Xiao Jinglin looked at Shen Xi, then at the horizon where smoke was beginning to rise. "It seems we have a common enemy, Feichi. I'll delay my 'inquiry.' For now, I want to see if this girl is truly the genius you claim she is."