Chapter 257 - Devoured (2)

Lin Xiaofei stiffened when she saw the arm that was almost raised to slash through her fall to the ground limply like it was a bag full of beans. She looked down at it before looking up again to see that the assassin was almost as shocked as she was.

Who wouldn't anyway when they saw their own arm that was perfectly fine a second ago would suddenly get cut cleanly and now lay on the ground, bleeding.

The raindrops that fell on her face were cold and as if the time stopped, Lin Xiaofei stiffened as she felt arms wrapping her into a warm embrace.

"If I had not come quickly, how much more torture would you put yourself under?" A deep enigmatic voice sounded suddenly from behind her.

Lin Xiaofei wanted to turn her head to look at him but because his hold was tight around her, she was unable to do so. However, the chilling sensation that was drilling into her bones was quite a new feeling to her.

What happened to him before he came there? Lin Xiaofei thought as she sensed the underlying danger in his voice.

"My sweet wife, do you not know how heart wrenching it is from me to see you like this?" Qu Xing Xu touched her bleeding arm that had a long gash in it.

Lin Xiaofei frowned at the sudden pain when he touched it and mumbled, "This would have never happened if your men were around. Where are they during all this time? And last time as well? I honestly think it was a mistake marrying you."

Qu Xing Xu smiled gently but the way he tightened his hold around told her that he was not pleased with her words.

"Now, don't say that…" Qu Xing Xu said.

After a few seconds, Lin Xiaofei still had not replied to him, making him feel anxious.

Suddenly, the arms that wrapped her into an embrace disappeared and Lin Xiaofei saw Qu Xing Xu standing before her. He put his finger under her chin and lifted it so she could meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry…"

She initially didn't want to accept his apology but there was something in his eyes that made her hesitate. In his eyes, there was something Lin Xiaofei couldn't understand.

He looked so lost and as if a word from her would break him. Lin Xiaofei just couldn't comprehend how he could make such expressions. After all, everything he showed to her until now was his usual wicked and ruthless side.

Before she could complete the puzzle and know what was the meaning behind the emotions he was feeling, Qu Xing Xu held her in his arms.

"Don't leave me…" he whispered to her ear. His hands gripped the fabric on her back, treating it as his only lifeline.

They met just a few months ago and since then, they had been together. First, as strangers. Second, as partners in crime. And third, as husband and wife. But Qu Xing Xu was sure that if it had not been Lin Xaiaofei, he would never feel the urge to apologize to anyone, let alone the fear of losing her.

Two people hugged each other in the midst of the still living danger on the side. The assassin who was completely ignored felt even more remorseful. He had not just lost one of his arms, he also could not move his body on his will. It was as if there was a huge snake wrapping its body around him, constricting him and stealing his will to move.

After a while, Lin Xiaofei finally decided that it was best to stop embracing each other now.

"It's alright. Forget what I just said earlier," she told him, patting his back like he was a young boy who needed to be comforted. "I'm fine, anyway. Besides, I don't want your people thinking that I'm a damsel that needed protection from every danger I met."

It was the truth... What happened tonight was also partly her fault. If she had not walked into the garden and instead went to the path that would lead her to the courtyard, she wouldn't be isolated in this place.

She also noticed before leaving her courtyard that the guards inside the Qu residence weren't that many as per the usual guards that stood on their spots to guard the residence and its masters. So, she wasn't really shocked that there weren't guards around the garden as well who could help her.

If anything, she should be thankful that Qu Xing Xu came for her in time before the assassin could strike a mortal wound to her body.

Although Lin Xiaofei already said it was fine, Qu Xing Xu thought that she was only saying that to make him feel better. No one really did that for him in the past. And it only made him vow.

No matter who it was, or what it was, if they dared to inflict any harm on his wife, they must be prepared to face his unimaginable wrath and see what kind of evil they brought in their lands.

It could have been because she was too tired after the struggle earlier, or it could be due to the blood loss from the long gash in her arm that after speaking, Lin Xiaofei suddenly fell unconscious in his arms without another word.

Qu Xing Xu's heart leaped instantly and his eyes turned golden from just seeing her falling unconscious. When he was sure that she was only sleeping and tired, he cradled her up in his arms. And the air suddenly swirled around him forming a perfect black sphere.

The black prevented the rain from penetrating any further and fall on the two figures inside, creating a black magical sphere that kept the cold chilling wind off Lin Xiaofei's sleeping figure.

With Lin Xiaofei in his arms, Qu Xing Xu used only one hand to flick another swirl of tendrils of black smoke towards the assassin who was unable to move.

"Be thankful, I have to take my wife back. Or else, this will not be the only ending you will suffer from." Qu Xing Xu no longer turned to look at the assassin as he lifted Lin Xiaofei from the ground.

Qu Xing Xu leapt to the sky and the sphere, along with him and Lin Xiaofei, disappeared without leaving a trace.

On the ground where the assassin stood, the lush green grass underneath his feet started to light up on fire. It was not an ordinary fire as its color was black, just like the black tiny snake-like smoke that cut his arm off.

Slowly, the fire started to creep up to his feet. At first, it didn't hurt as much as one would feel when one touched fire, but soon, when the black smoke swirling around him was just above his waist, that's when the most unimaginable pain started to make him sweat and scream.

The scream that came from the assassin was soon drowned by the torrential rain that came after Qu Xing Xu left that place. But it didn't reduce the fear that many powerful men in the world felt when they sensed the tremendous evil aura that slipped through for a second.