When the power suddenly came back on, Chen Yingyin's unease only deepened.
She lowered her flashlight, raised her pistol, and advanced carefully toward the detention room where Xiao Lin was being held.
Just moments ago, a deafening crash had echoed from that direction.
The closer she got, the tighter her grip became. She swallowed, pressed her back to the wall, and edged forward step by step.
Power outage.
Violent noise.
Gu Yan's words about Xiao Lin's "unusual background."
No matter how she looked at it, these events felt disturbingly connected.
She took a sharp breath and suddenly rushed in.
"Don't move!"
Her gun snapped up, aimed straight into the detention room.
And then—
She froze.
Xiao Lin stood there with bloodshot eyes, his fist buried in the concrete floor. The ground beneath him had cracked into a spiderweb pattern.
"What happened here?" Chen Yingyin demanded sharply.
"Xiao Lin—what did you do?!"
She didn't lower her gun. Instead, she grew even more alert.
The cell looked like the aftermath of a brutal fight.
Hearing her voice, Xiao Lin slowly raised his head.
The moment their eyes met, Chen Yingyin's heart sank.
She recognized that look.
A look she'd seen far too many times.
The look of someone who wanted to kill.
Xiao Lin stared at the gun pointed at him, then at Chen Yingyin's face. His emotions surged violently.
If he hadn't been arrested…
If she hadn't locked him up…
He wouldn't have met those mysterious attackers.
His jade pendant wouldn't have been stolen.
All of it.
All of it was because of her.
He stood up.
A strange halo flickered around his arms, light pulsing unnaturally.
"!!"
Chen Yingyin's pupils shrank.
What was that?
Some kind of illusion?
A trick?
Or something else entirely?
Fear crept up her spine, but she forced it down and shouted:
"Xiao Lin! What are you trying to do? Do you want to make things even worse?!"
Her heart pounded wildly. The gun in her hand trembled despite her effort to steady it.
People feared the unknown—
especially when it stood right in front of them.
Xiao Lin stared at her, and memories surged through his mind.
His master's voice echoed clearly.
[Your power is meant to protect, not to kill. Remember that when you descend the mountain.]
[Take the dragon-shaped jade pendant and go to the Bai family. When the two halves reunite, you will command the Dragon King Palace.]
[You are the key to saving this world. Learn to control your power first.]
Xiao Lin closed his eyes.
He took a deep breath.
The halo around his arms slowly faded.
His hands dropped to his sides. His head lowered.
Regret.
Unwillingness.
Both burned in his eyes.
He regretted losing control in the secular world.
He hated himself for losing the jade pendant—his master's gift, the core of his cultivation path.
And what terrified him most—
Those people had known about it.
Why?
Who was targeting him?
Seeing Xiao Lin restrain himself, Chen Yingyin finally felt the cold sweat soaking her back.
Gu Yan's words echoed again in her mind.
Unusual background…
Was this young migrant worker really hiding some enormous secret?
Just as she was about to probe further—
"Sister Yingyin! Are you okay?!"
A worried voice rang out from outside the door.
Xiao Lin snapped his head up as if struck by lightning.
His eyes locked onto the doorway.
"…Gu Yan."
The name was almost torn from his throat.
Chen Yingyin's face changed instantly. She stepped in front of Gu Yan without hesitation.
"Xiao Lin! What do you think you're doing? It's over!"
She remembered Gu Yan's earlier words—about Xiao Lin wanting to kill him.
She'd doubted it then.
She didn't now.
Gu Yan shrank back, face pale, fear flickering convincingly in his eyes. His voice trembled as he spoke:
"Brother Xiao Lin… I don't understand. We don't have any grudges. Why do you want to kill me?"
"Is it just because I went to pick up Sister Yulan?"
Xiao Lin stared at him.
Seeing Gu Yan frightened should have satisfied him.
Instead, it only fueled the fire in his chest.
"Shut up!" Xiao Lin roared.
"You deceived Yulan! You made me hurt her and caused all these misunderstandings!"
"You're obviously a bastard! Someone like you must have ulterior motives staying by her side!"
Chen Yingyin frowned.
So this was it?
Jealousy?
For a moment, any remaining sympathy she had for Xiao Lin vanished.
To kill someone over something like this—
Unforgivable.
Gu Yan slowly straightened his back.
The fear on his face faded.
In its place—calm.
He stepped forward, standing beside Chen Yingyin, and looked Xiao Lin straight in the eye.
"Ulterior motives?" Gu Yan said coldly.
"Yes. I do have a motive."
"My motive was to help Sister Yulan shoulder some of the pressure."
"Do you know her mother is in the hospital? Do you know how terrifying the daily medical bills are?"
"Do you know she's working four jobs—so exhausted her body's worse than a normal person's?"
"You don't know anything."
"You're just an ignorant man who came to Jianghai City swinging his fists."
Gu Yan's voice rose, sharp and unyielding.
"Sister Yulan's mother was my teacher. I helped her daughter because I was grateful."
"And you?"
"She found you a place to stay—and you repaid her by injuring her!"
"Did you even visit her in the hospital?"
"I paid the medical bills. What did you do?"
He paused, then laughed softly—without warmth.
"Oh, right."
"I heard you even killed several people. Destroyed entire families."
"People like you…"
"Gu Yan, stop!"
Chen Yingyin interrupted sharply.
Xiao Lin's body was trembling now.
She was afraid Gu Yan would push him over the edge.
Gu Yan inhaled deeply, as if restraining his anger.
"Sister Yulan told me in the hospital," he said quietly,
"not to hate you."
"She said you were a good person. That you'd helped her before."
"I even wanted to withdraw my police report."
"But then you went and did something like that at Tianye Pharmaceutical."
"Xiao Lin… you've disappointed both her and me."
Boom.
Xiao Lin's mind went blank.
The fury inside him was drowned instantly—
by endless regret.
Thud.
He dropped to his knees.
"What… have I done…?"
He smashed his fists into the ground again and again, not using any strength, just raw desperation.
Blood spilled freely.
Tears streamed down his face as he choked on sobs.
Even at the very end—
She still believed in me.
And I…
I destroyed everything.
Between losing the jade pendant and hurting Wang Yulan—
Something inside him cracked.
And whatever shattered—
Would never heal again.
Chen Yingyin closed her eyes.
Be a good person in your next life, she thought silently.
But no one noticed—
As Gu Yan's furious expression slowly faded.
And was replaced—
By something far uglier.