The Fox King

Chapter 46: Guardian

Hearing that, Zhe Huo frowned harder. “Could they really be here for Luo Qinghan?” she murmured.

“It’s simple: Just go and ask the boy if anyone from the underworld might be holding some kind of beef with him,” Tao Feiyan drawled lazily, and then took another sip of wine.

However, Zhe Huo was getting worked up now, having just thought of something. “When I first met Qinghan, I remember him telling me that his parents had given their lives protecting him, and that someone wanted to eat him. Could this man in black be one of those bad guys who are after the boy?”

Chilled by the thought, she got up and hurried away without waiting for Feiyan’s reply, mumbling, “No, I have to make sure he’s okay…”

Alone now, Feiyan considered Zhe Huo’s story for a moment, and then inexplicably burst into laughter.

At the same time, Zhe Huo stormed into her room, and it was only when she saw tiny little Luo Qinghan curled up asleep in bed, that her racing heart was able to calm down a little.

Afraid to wake him up, she approached carefully, and stood by the bedside watching him purse his pale little lips, the exquisite contours of his fair face lovingly shaped into a divine vision of splendor. Stray wisps of chestnut-brown hair were plastered across his forehead, good-looking in a chaotic, disheveled sort of way.

Zhe Huo was utterly bewitched, and she couldn’t help reaching out with her pinky to scratch his pointed little nose. Qinghan’s eyelashes fluttered all of a sudden, and Zhe Huo retracted her finger in a hurry, but the boy was already opening his eyes, deep blue like the ocean.

He looked at her for one sleepy moment, then flung his blanket aside and reached out with both arms for a hug. Before she could react, he’d already caught her by the waist. “Zhe Huo, where did you go?” he moaned, still half asleep.

Zhe Huo stroked Qinghan’s ears as they slowly perked up on his head. “Nowhere. I was just…” Remembering the serious matter from a moment ago, she urgently pulled the boy away and said, “Qinghan, Feiyan said we’re being followed by somebody. I had a look just now, and there really is a suspicious figure in black, across the street from the inn.

“Feiyan and I both agree that he must be connected to the underworld. Qinghan, please tell me: The bad guys who were after you previously—were they underworld agents?”

Qinghan tilted his head slightly to the side, his scarlet lips parting to murmur, “A figure in black?”

“Yes! Do you know him?” Zhe Huo watched him anxiously.

Seeing the worry in her eyes, the boy shook his head. He blinked those spellbindingly beautiful eyes, and said, “A lot of people are after me. I can’t remember them all.”

“A lot? Why are they all after you, Qinghan?”

He made a sleepy yawn, unable to keep his eyes open. “Dunno…”

Zhe Huo’s heart was breaking from sympathy for Qinghan. Chased by murderers all his life, never understanding the reason why. He’d even lost both his parents to them. If not for a soft-hearted impulse to bring him back with her, right now he might still be wandering from place to place, trying to evade his pursuers.

But it didn’t have to be like that anymore. She’d taken him in, and that meant she was responsible for his safety. If anyone meant to do him harm, they’d have to get through her first. No one would ever hurt one hair on his head again!

Thinking thusly, Zhe Huo grit her teeth and declared, “Don’t worry, Qinghan. I’ll go get rid of him for you, right now!”

Without waiting for a reply from him, she turned and left in an unholy fury.

Qinghan watched her go with a hint of affection in his eyes. Then he averted his gaze and smiled faintly, contemptuously.