Chapter Seventy-Four: Who Wants to Harm Me in Secret

With a sudden thud, Han Mingxuan threw himself over me, pinning me to the ground—an ancient feathered arrow whistled through the air and embedded itself in his shoulder blade!

Xiaoyun screamed in terror, rushing over, but once she got there, panic overtook her and she stood rooted to the spot, her hands fluttering helplessly as her cries filled the air.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Han Mingxuan shook his head. "Just a bone prick."

As he spoke, he yanked the arrow straight out of his own shoulder blade. With a wet squelch, blood spattered onto me, leaving me utterly stunned.

"Who did this?" Xiaoyun, seeing the blood, burst into sobs and threw herself onto Han Mingxuan, her small hands pressing on his wound as she frantically questioned him.

I found it strange too—after all, in this modern world, people use guns, not bows and arrows. And even if someone did use a feathered arrow, hitting a target with such precision from a hundred paces would require an Olympic champion! But even if Han Mingxuan had somehow angered an Olympic champion, it seemed unlikely they'd risk their career to kill him with an arrow.

Besides, it was obvious the attack wasn’t meant for him, but for me.

As I mulled this over, Xin’er also flung herself at Han Mingxuan, dumbfounded, and began to cry.

“Haha, it’s alright.” Han Mingxuan patted her with a smile, then, with a flick, transformed the arrow into a tiny flower. “Just playing a trick on your sister—magic. Don’t cry.”

Xin’er looked at him, half-believing, and poked at his wound with a little pout. “How could you joke with something like this? We were scared out of our wits!”

“It’s fine. Go back to your room and have some snacks. I have a few things to discuss with your sister.”

“Alright…” Xin’er reluctantly trudged back inside, glancing back repeatedly at the door as if unwilling to leave.

Only after Xin’er had disappeared inside did Han Mingxuan’s face contort again in pain.

“Damn it, that hurts like hell,” Han Mingxuan whimpered, clutching his wounded shoulder and clicking his tongue. “I need to take care of this, or I’ll be left with a scar—and that would be a crime against this exquisite body of mine, haha.”

“Stop joking, you’re still bleeding. Go clean up, quickly,” Xiaoyun scolded, supporting Han Mingxuan as she ushered him inside.

Han Mingxuan, subdued for once, stripped off his shirt and let Xiaoyun tend to him. With Xin’er gone, he made no attempt to hide his pain, grimacing and gritting his teeth—though he still managed to sneak his hand onto Xiaoyun’s thigh.

At Xiaoyun’s glare, he just grinned shamelessly until the wound was dressed and he reluctantly pulled his hand away to get dressed.

Xiaoyun’s cheeks had flushed red by then—after all, she wore an old-fashioned cheongsam, the kind with slits up the sides, so her thighs were exposed. No wonder she was embarrassed. But for someone as incorrigible as Han Mingxuan, such behavior was only to be expected.

Afterward, Xiaoyun carefully wiped the spots where Han Mingxuan’s blood had splattered on me, but I waved her off, indicating it wasn’t necessary.

After all, Yu Bao had said these were just old clothes she didn’t want. I’d just change out of them when I got back; Wangchuan wouldn’t know a thing.

What mattered now was that I needed some proper clothes to wear.

“Come on, I’ll take you shopping,” Han Mingxuan said, doing a few chest stretches and nodding approvingly, satisfied with Xiaoyun’s bandaging.

I stared at him in disbelief—how could he move around so easily after just being shot with an arrow? He acted as if nothing had happened, not a flicker of pain on his face.

Still, I couldn’t figure out who wanted me dead—who would ambush me with an arrow in broad daylight? Suddenly, I felt as if danger lurked around every corner. But Han Mingxuan insisted there was no need to be so cautious over a small matter like this.

Perhaps it was one of his old enemies taking aim at him, and I’d only been caught in the crossfire.

Thinking it over, I realized it was possible. I had no enemies among mortals; if I did, it would only be Rebecca or Claudia from the rift—neither of whom would bother coming to the human world just to shoot me.

After some discussion, Xiaoyun agreed that it was highly unlikely, and tried to reassure us.

Han Mingxuan, feeling the pressure, took me to the mall to buy some everyday women’s clothes.

I truly didn’t know how to thank him. We were little more than acquaintances, yet he’d taken in my sister, cared for her so gently, and just now had saved my life—and here he was, taking me shopping for clothes.

But Han Mingxuan just joked, “Isn’t there a saying here—‘repay a favor with your body’? Well, if you want, I won’t mind.”

I was instantly embarrassed, not knowing how to respond. My mind buzzed—why did everyone keep bringing up this ‘repay with your body’ nonsense?

Xiaoyun was taken aback as well, blushing and glancing at Han Mingxuan, as if wanting to say something but unable to find the words.

Before I could reply, Han Mingxuan added, “But with your tiny frame, having to shop in the children’s section, I doubt you could handle me… tsk tsk…”

With that, he sauntered off to pick out children’s clothes.

So that was why he’d been so eager to bring me shopping—just to humiliate me by dragging me to the kids’ department! But really, it wasn’t his fault. If anyone was to blame, it was Wangchuan for leaving me stuck in this child-sized body, not quite an adult, not quite a child!

But Han Mingxuan had no right to show off and make snide comments like ‘you couldn’t handle me!’ So what if he was a notorious womanizer? Did he have to keep bringing that up? How utterly mortifying!

I grumbled to myself, and I’m sure Xiaoyun did as well.

We walked in silence.

After Han Mingxuan picked out more than a dozen children’s outfits, I quietly took the clothes and murmured, “Thank you.”

“No need,” Han Mingxuan replied with a sly smile. “Whenever you want to pay me back, I don’t mind if you use your body—or, if you prefer, you can have a friend do it for you.”

He shot a wicked glance at Xiaoyun.

Xiaoyun’s face instantly turned beet red. She knew exactly what he meant, but was clearly displeased, clenching her fists and refusing to respond.

“Alright,” Han Mingxuan said, patting Xiaoyun’s head, and then reached for mine.

I quickly dodged away, remembering Wangchuan’s warning about not picking up other people’s scent. Blood on my clothes I could remove, but if his scent got in my hair, there’d be no getting rid of it.

Han Mingxuan looked at me oddly, shrugged, and stuck his hands in his pockets.

“Go on, you two should head back to the rift. It’s nearby, so I won’t see you off. I need to get to the hospital for some medicine—rare for me to be wounded.”

Xiaoyun and I nodded, and Han Mingxuan drove away.

We stood there awkwardly, neither of us speaking, though we both knew what was on the other’s mind.

When we got back, I immediately took off the coat Yu Bao had lent me, told Xiaoyun to wash it and return it when she had time, and hurried off to find Wangchuan.

But all my careful planning was for nothing. When I found Wangchuan, he was glowering, his face dark as thunder.

My heart skipped a beat—oh no, was he angry again? Why was he always in such a foul mood?

I tried my best to look cheerful as I approached, reaching out to take his hand.

But before I could touch him, he jerked his wrist away.

“Where have you been?”

“I… I went to see my sister,” I answered, forcing a smile.

He narrowed his eyes. “Why do you still smell like that wolf?”

I sniffed myself—I hadn’t let Han Mingxuan touch me! Could the scent cling from a distance?

But my sniffing only proved I’d been in contact with Han Mingxuan, that I hadn’t listened to Wangchuan.

He grabbed me, pulling me in close, his eyes fixed on mine.

I didn’t touch him, but I still shivered in fear.

What did this mean?