Han Yan summed up the current situation with a single sentence.
He was even too lazy to ponder whether Sande, as a male zerg with no power to bind a chicken, had the ability to bully an S-class military female who had once been on the battlefield. He unilaterally concluded that the victim must be Gaien.
Prince Pei also had a dark expression, his brows furrowed tightly, “What exactly happened just now?”
Upon hearing this, Sande finally snapped out of his stupor. He took two steps back, with a clatter, throwing away the dagger in his hand. Incoherently, he said, “No… It wasn’t me… It was Gaien! Gaien tried to kill me with a knife!”
He never expected that the female zerg he had admired for over a decade would turn out to be insane. Shocked and frightened, his mind went blank.
Gaien, on the other hand, remained silent. He simply buried himself in Han Yan’s embrace, his face pale. It seemed like he was afraid of something. His shoulders trembled slightly, and his blood-soaked hands tightly gripped Han Yan’s clothes, the force so strong that his fingertips turned blue.
Han Yan quietly tightened his right hand and could only hold the female zerg in his arms even tighter. He casually turned his head and kissed Gaien’s silver hair, the cool lenses brushing against the skin, bringing a subtle tingling sensation. Calmly, he asked, “Is it him?”
As if he hadn’t heard Sande’s words at all.
Gaien made a barely audible “Hmm,” and then lowered his gaze, burying his face in the crook of Han Yan’s neck. Unnoticed, he lightly nuzzled him twice. The onlookers could only see his trembling body due to fear, but they couldn’t catch a glimpse of his face hidden in the shadows. His eyes were slightly narrowed, his expression both pleased and sinister.
Gaien knew he had won the gamble…
If the other zerg held him, they would undoubtedly protect him…
Seeing Gaien admit it, anger widened Sande’s eyes. He immediately rushed forward, pointing to the windowsill behind him, “You clearly used a knife against my neck just now and tried to throw me off the windowsill! I…”
Han Yan spoke calmly, directly cutting off his words, “But you are unharmed now, while my monarch is covered in wounds. Mr. Sande, for whatever reason, you better provide me with a reasonable explanation.”
Standing among the guests, Fallon, seeing that Han Yan was not addressing the key point, couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. With a determined heart, he stepped forward and joined in the inquiry, “Indeed, Your Excellency Sande, how did you end up alone with the Eighth Prince in the dressing room, and why do you look like this now?”
He successfully redirected everyone’s attention, and the guests were collectively stunned. Indeed, how did the Eighth Prince Gaien end up in the dressing room alone with His Excellency Sande? They were once engaged; could it be that old feelings had reignited?
Once this thought emerged, it couldn’t be suppressed. Various curious and speculative gazes were instantly focused on the two of them, each with its own interpretation.
Han Yan remained unfazed, still wearing the calm expression as if untouched by the unfolding drama. He didn’t even glance at Fallon, instead, his gaze lowered to the female zerg in his arms. His slender fingertips gently threaded through Gaien’s hair, soothing him like a pitiable little creature. His voice was low, “Tell me, what happened just now?”
Gaien, nestled in his embrace, spoke with pursed lips, “My clothes were accidentally splashed with juice just now, so I wanted to go upstairs to change. Unexpectedly… unexpectedly, His Excellency Sande followed me in.”
He left his words unfinished, deliberately leaving some room for imagination. Upon hearing this, Prince Pei immediately ordered a waiter to check the corridor surveillance. The result confirmed Gaien’s statement. However, for some unknown reason, the surveillance footage blacked out as soon as Sande entered the room.
Fallon stood in the shadows, a trace of satisfaction flickering in his eyes.
Han Yan raised his eyes to look at Sande. Due to the crystal light overhead, a faint glint passed over the thin lenses. Although he didn’t display anger, his calm tone sent a chill down the spines of all the guests. Deliberately, he said, “Mr. Sande, even if you harbor resentment for the past engagement, Gaien is now my partner. Is it not too audacious of you to blatantly harm him in such a manner?”
Prince Pei, though not entirely understanding what had happened, could roughly guess. In order to protect Gaien’s reputation, he followed Han Yan’s lead, “Your Excellency Sande, your actions not only offend His Excellency Ashya but also constitute an offense against the royal family!”
Sande found it difficult to defend himself, sweating profusely and feeling the pressure. What Gaien said wasn’t entirely false—
Sande did indeed bribe the waiter, follow into the dressing room, and he did have some devious intentions.
Sande gritted his teeth and stepped forward, grabbing Gaien’s right hand to pull him out, saying, “I didn’t harm him at all! We were accidentally locked in the room, and these bloodstains are from Gaien hitting the door. If you don’t believe me, you can check the dents on the door. That military dagger is his…”
Despite Sande’s attempt to explain, the atmosphere remained tense, and the guests were caught between uncertainty and suspicion.
As Sande continued speaking, his voice suddenly halted because there was a conspicuous knife wound on Gaien’s abdomen. Fresh blood oozed out, saturating the white shirt. Due to Gaien’s movements, none of the zergs noticed it.
Gaien, caught off guard by Sande’s abrupt pull, stumbled and appeared disheveled. He raised his pale face to look at Sande and spoke in a hoarse voice, “I’m sorry, Your Excellency. I took out the dagger just for self-defense, with no intention to harm you…”
In a place only visible to Sande, a fleeting glint passed through Gaien’s red eyes. He had indeed paid the price of shedding some blood, but he also won this gamble. Now it was time for Sande to pay a “small” price for his recently wicked intentions.
Gaien softly added, “After all, I don’t want to be touched by any zerg other than my lord…”
With these words, he exerted a bit of force to free himself from Sande’s grip. Limping slightly, he retreated to Han Yan’s side, returning to that chilly embrace.
The onlooking guests finally understood what had happened. It was now “clear” that His Excellency Sande harbored wicked intentions towards the Eighth Prince Gaien. Taking advantage of the moment when Gaien entered the dressing room, he stealthily followed, attempting to do something inappropriate. However, he didn’t anticipate Gaien’s fierce resistance, leading to His Excellency Sande, in his frustration, stabbing him.
As they contemplated the situation, a sense of pity arose among the onlookers. Look at those two deep dents on the door; the Eighth Prince must have felt utterly helpless with nowhere to escape.
Sande, in his frustration, was about to drag Gaien out, his hand raised high in anger, “Damn it! What nonsense are you talking about?!”
However, before his slap could land, Han Yan intercepted him mid-air. The man’s movements were effortlessly swift; he hooked his fingertips onto Sande’s pulse, and with a sharp twist of the wrist, a move that seemed to sever tendons and bones, Sande was left kneeling on the ground, his face pale with pain.
“Plop—!”
Sande’s knees heavily hit the ground, cold sweat covering his body. He felt like his entire arm was about to break, and he cried out in pain, “It hurts! It hurts! Let go!”
Han Yan, with an unchanged expression, stared at him. His calm, stormy-gray eyes showed no emotion. When looking at Sande, it was as if he was observing an inanimate object, “Mr. Sande Durant, your disrespect towards my female monarch is a bit too much. You better provide me with a satisfactory explanation tomorrow, or I’ll have to handle it my way.”
After his words, Han Yan swiftly pressed his fingertips on two acupoints on Sande’s back, then casually tossed him to the ground, saying with profound meaning, “A small punishment for a serious warning.”
The zerg’s body structure is similar to that of humans, and those acupoints would cause Sande discomfort for about ten days to half a month.
Han Yan, having said that, walked towards Gaien and directly lifted him in a horizontal embrace, heading downstairs in full view of the crowd. Gaien’s clothes on the abdomen were soaked with blood, and Han Yan had no intention of lingering here. He just wanted to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
Prince Pei, hesitatingly, called out from behind, “Your Excellency!”
Han Yan paused at the words but didn’t turn around. “Please carefully investigate who locked the dressing room door. If there are any results, be sure to inform me immediately.”
Having said that, he deliberately glanced at Fallon standing behind the minister of the Chamber of Commerce. Then, he calmly turned away, ignoring Fallon’s anxious expression, and descended the stairs, carrying Gaien with him.
Earlier, while Han Yan and Prince Pei were discussing business in the study, Fallon suddenly came with a few female zergs, knocking on the door. He claimed not to know where Gaien had gone, and even His Excellecy Sande was nowhere to be found.
While this move did tarnish Gaien’s reputation, it also exposed Fallon himself. Han Yan saw through his little scheme with just one glance. While there might be some shady motives behind Sande’s actions, Fallon wouldn’t escape unscathed either.
A foolish and brainless female zerg…
Han Yan couldn’t muster even a hint of mockery towards such a creature. He didn’t disdain cunning methods, nor did he despise zergs lacking intelligence. However, combining both qualities was simply irritating.
As Han Yan thought about it, he glanced faintly at Gaien in his arms. He considered that this female zerg might not be all that clever either—sometimes, harming oneself more than the enemy in the pursuit of a goal.
“…”
Perhaps sensing the subdued aura surrounding Han Yan, Gaien reached out and hugged his neck, gently rubbing his neck with soft hair. He closed his eyes and softly uttered two words, “My lord…”
He wondered if the male zerg might be angry.
Han Yan remained silent, carrying him out of the banquet hall. Outside, the twilight had set in, and the aircraft was parked in the backyard. Using fingerprint recognition, he opened the cabin door and directly sat inside, holding Gaien in his arms.
There was always a clean handkerchief in Han Yan’s pocket. He pulled it out to cover Gaien’s abdominal wound while quickly searching for the nearest hospital on the crystal screen. Unexpectedly, Gaien grabbed his wrist.
“My lord,”
Gaien’s hand was stained with blood, sticky and cold. In the darkness, he silently gazed at Han Yan and softly said, “Can we not go to the hospital? I want to go home with you…”
He referred to that place as “home”.
Han Yan looked at him in response, his eyes behind the lenses reflecting thoughts unknown.
Gaien repeated once more, “Can we go home? We can call the doctor after we’re home.”
Gaien didn’t want to stay in the hospital. That place was too pale and too quiet. When his right leg was disabled, he spent a full half-year lying in the hospital. He had grown weary of that cold environment and yearned to chase after something warmer.
After Gaien’s words, he slowly closed his eyes, returning to Han Yan’s embrace. He pressed close to the warmth of the male’s chest, like a small animal finding its way back to a cozy nest. That comforting feeling was enough to dispel the pain from the wound.
“…”
Han Yan remained silent. After a while, his fingertips moved slightly. Without saying a word, he exited the navigation screen, activated the autopilot function, and headed towards their home. At the same time, he used the terminal to schedule a doctor for a home visit, acquiescing to Gaien’s wishes.
The aircraft took off into the night, and the scenery outside retreated and transformed. Tall buildings slowly disappeared into the clouds, leaving only a vast and desolate sky.
Han Yan closed his eyes gently, his refined and elegant profile merging into the darkness. It was unclear what he was thinking, and the changing lights and shadows on the lenses reflected the complexity of his current state.
Before long, the aircraft arrived at their residence.
Admon couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night. He was sitting in the living room watching a midnight show when he suddenly heard the sound of an aircraft landing outside. Thinking that Han Yan and the others had returned, he got up from the couch and walked to the door. However, when he opened it, he saw Han Yan carrying Gaien entering, followed by a doctor carrying a medicine box.
Admon was momentarily stunned, “Aren’t you supposed to be at the banquet? Why are you back so early? And Gaien, why is he covered in blood?!”
“Close the door.”
Han Yan didn’t have time to explain anything to Admon at the moment. He carried Gaien upstairs and, once inside, gently placed him on the bed. He signaled the doctor to treat Gaien, saying, “He’s injured in the abdomen and hands.”
Upon hearing this, the doctor immediately put down the medicine box and gently opened Gaien’s clothes to examine him. There was a one-inch-long wound on the female zerg’s abdomen. Thanks to the robust physique of a military female zerg, the blood had already started to clot and stop flowing. The doctor reassured, “It’s okay, the wound isn’t deep. After some treatment, he’ll be fine.”
For a military female, such a small wound was nothing significant. The doctor methodically opened the medicine box and started treating Gaien’s wound. It was clear that he was accustomed to such situations. Gaien lay quietly on the bed, allowing the disinfectant cotton to pass over the wound. He didn’t even furrow his brows, gently turning his head to look in the direction where Han Yan was.
Similarly, Han Yan was gazing at Gaien.
He sat with his legs crossed on the opposite sofa, holding a cigarette between his fingertips, which was already lit. A thin wisp of smoke rose gracefully into the air, dissipating shortly afterward.
Han Yan was deep in thought.
He thought that the commotion at the banquet might have been caused by Sande and Fallon, but the wounds on Gaien seemed suspicious and were likely self-inflicted.
He knew that beneath Gaien’s lifeless exterior was a beast with razor-sharp claws, but he had not anticipated the extent of Gaien’s ruthlessness, especially towards himself. After all, someone who could be ruthless towards oneself would be even more ruthless towards others.
Han Yan gently flicked the cigarette ash with his fingertips, looking at the slender and beautiful female zerg on the bed. He had glimpsed the profound cunning and darkness within Gaien. Yet, no matter how he looked at it, Han Yan couldn’t help but feel that Gaien was just a pitiful little creature.
Injured but not shedding a tear or making a fuss, Gaien lay obediently on the bed, waiting for Han Yan’s comfort and embrace.
After the doctor finished treating the wound and left, Han Yan didn’t accompany him downstairs. He simply got up, escorted the doctor to the door, and then closed the door with a soft click.
Gaien lay on the bed, watching Han Yan approach step by step. His eyelashes trembled unconsciously, “My lord…”
The shirt stained with blood still clung to him, and his complexion was pale, exuding a kind of shattered beauty. Gaien slowly extended his hands towards Han Yan, his red eyes clean and pure, like an innocent child asking for candy, “Hold me.”
He focused on Han Yan, his gaze clear. This expression, free of any gloom, only appeared when his right leg was still intact. He softly pleaded, “Hold me, please?”
Even though a military female wouldn’t die from injuries, Gaien still felt a bit of pain.
Maintaining that outstretched position, unmoving, he finally fell into a pair of arms with a faint tobacco scent.
Han Yan took a seat at the edge of the bed, reaching out to hold the pitiful little creature before him – his little creature. He thought that living things were indeed different from lifeless collectibles. They could be affectionate, seek comfort, and knew how to soften his heart.
Exhaling a thin wisp of smoke, Han Yan, his emotions concealed behind the lenses, asked, “Does it hurt a lot?”
Gaien nestled in his embrace, gently shaking his head, “Not anymore.”
As long as he was held, the pain seemed to vanish.
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