After leaving the refugees with the navy and ambassador at the port, the several helicopters that had stayed behind had also safely evacuated and gathered up the rest of the team. The rescue operation was officially complete, but the team members who should have been happy were all immersed in silence. No one rejoiced in the aftermath as the refugees did, and no one was relieved that the task was accomplished. Behind them was a battlefield filled with the smoke of gunpowder. War and peace, life and death were separated by nothing more than a thin line.

Sitting in the helicopter, Yun Xi carefully bandaged Mu Feichi’s wound. The whirring of the propellers was loud, and no one spoke. The atmosphere was quiet, yet hardly relaxing. Yun Xi was busy changing dressings for Mu Feichi’s wound during the entire journey and had not even noticed that Xiao Jinglin had been staring at her, but Mu Feichi had seen it all. The more he watched, the more gloomy his face became.

Whatever Xiao Jinglin’s reason was for coming all the way here in person, he did not have the capacity to get to the bottom of it right at this moment. That aside, his little woman who had tagged along on this trip had been much steadier than he had anticipated, in both dealing with military strategy and in battle.

After going through this baptism by fire, it was impossible for anyone’s heart to be as delicate as it once was. In the past two years, he had carefully protected her just to guard this precious heart of hers. But in the end, she still came to the battlefield because of him. Although Mu Feichi knew deep down that no woman of his could ever be an ordinary person, he still could not move past this hurdle in his heart.

Thinking of the child who had been shot dead by her, his mind flooded with a figure charging at him, a face covered in paint and dust as she said to him with a murderous aura: Mu Feichi, I’m here. She came. She had come here just for him, and she had told him that with him around, death was nothing to fear. For so many years on the battlefield, he had never been afraid of death, and he could not even count the number of lives that had been taken by these blood-stained hands. She was the last bit of color in his gray world and his final shred of faith.

Feeling the coldness emanating from Mu Feichi, Yun Xi lowered her eyes and glanced at his clenched fists. Then she raised one of her hands still covered in blood and patted his fist. Her soft touch magically soothed his stirring emotions.

She could somewhat guess what Mu Feichi was thinking. Ever since they’d returned from the battlefield, his emotions had seemed off. After giving it some thought, she knew what was bothering him. The moment that she had killed that boy in town, she’d heard his helpless sigh.

It was not her first time killing someone, nor was it the first time she had fired a real shot. The only difference about it was that the target had been a child. But in that second, she had fired without hesitation. Between Mu Feichi and this child who had been brainwashed by war and terrorist attacks, she would only ever choose the man fighting side by side with her, the man who had sworn to keep her safe with his life.

To have compassion while dealing with death, that was who she was. Since she had been born again, there was no way she could remain pure and innocent forever if she wanted to have her revenge. How could the world simply be as one wishes without having any remorse in one’s heart?

At the airport of a neighboring country, they all boarded Xiao Jinglin’s private plane and waited for the captain to fly them home. Finally, Mu Feichi lifted his gaze and glared at Xiao Jinglin, who still had his eyes locked on Yun Xi, and he said in a half-joking manner, “It’s been years since I’ve seen Mr. Xiao step down off that mountain. What a rare sight!”

Xiao Jinglin glanced at him and did not bother to respond. Then he turned to look at Yun Xi. Unzipping his coat pocket, he carefully took out a velvet box tucked inside. Then he opened it and handed it to her.

“Little girl, is this bracelet yours?”

Yun Xi glanced at the velvet box in his hand, taking it from him with a dazed expression, and whipped her head up in surprise.

“My cousin gave it to me some time ago, saying that I had worn it on my hand as a child, but it was later taken away by my aunt. This bracelet doesn’t look like a bracelet an ordinary family would have. It has a special pattern on it. According to how well I know my mother, it’s unlikely that she would’ve let me take such a precious bracelet back to my hometown. As for whether or not I wore this as a child, I’ll need to go back and ask my uncle to find out.”