You Shuyao knew he was wavering as soon as she heard this, and immediately said, "No, I don't want to be confused. If you don't tell me, I'll overthink things and won't be able to live a good life. Why don't you tell me the situation so I can have some idea? Maybe... I can help, after all, I've been in the organization for so many years." Knowing she was an assassin, he didn't ask her for inside information; she knew quite a lot.

Huo Jingsha stared at her, seeing her serious expression, and knew that if he didn't tell her something tonight, she probably wouldn't let him get close, and might even give him a hard time.

"Okay, ask away! What do you want to know?"

Shu Yao thought for a moment and then told him what was on her mind.

“I understand. The organization will not allow traitors to live. If they let one go, they will be unable to control other traitorous assassins in the future. So the leader must have issued a kill order now. A large number of assassins will come to kill me, and they will not stop until they achieve their goal. For them, this is to clean house. If you stop them and protect me, it is equivalent to standing on the opposite side of them.”

He scoffed. "Whatever. Didn't they send a lot of assassins to kill me too? I was their sworn enemy anyway, so it was only a matter of time before I wiped them out."

She quickly shook her head and said seriously, "That's different. They took the job to assassinate you. If they failed, at most they would return the money and never show up again. It would be difficult for you to find their whereabouts. But if you stop them from cleaning up their own ranks, that would be interfering with the organization's rules. As long as I live, they will keep sending people. Can you defend yourself for a while and then defend yourself forever?"

"How can we not defend against it? If I don't let you die, no one can touch you. At worst, we'll just kill them all." Huo Jingsha said coldly. As long as she could be safe, he didn't mind starting a brutal killing spree.

You Shuyao believed that he was a man of his word, but she didn't want Huo Jingsha to live a life of killing and being killed for her sake, especially since getting involved in江湖恩怨 (jianghu grudges) was uncertain, as it might affect his career. She gently shook her head and used gentle words to explain the facts and reason with him.

“You can never kill them all. The organization can keep training new assassins. That’s how powerful the kill order is. It’s relentless until death. They can keep going for ten or twenty years to kill me, until I disappear from this world. Jing Sha, I don’t want your hands to be stained with blood. That way… I won’t be happy either.”

Huo Jingsha's eyes immediately turned sinister and violent. "Yao'er, believe me, I won't let anyone touch you. Your life belongs only to me."

No matter how powerful the opponent, he would not be afraid. Protecting his woman was a man's duty. He had soldiers and power, so he would never allow those assassins to touch a hair on Shu Yao's head. What did "fight to the death" mean? For him, "fight to the death" meant death! As long as he lived, he would ensure her peace.

“I know… I know you’ll protect me, but what I mean is… I don’t want you to worry about me every day. The Emperor’s affairs are already enough to worry you about, and even the best plans can have flaws. If they’re pushed to the limit, they might turn on you again. Who knows, one day…” Shu Yao sighed, her eyes welling up with tears. “In short, the thought of you living like this is unbearable, and you’re keeping it from me. How can I not be filled with fear, struggling alone while I can rest easy? Thinking about all this… makes me so sad…”

Her eyes reddened. To be honest, she didn't know what to do in this situation. She wanted to stay with him for the rest of her life and didn't want to leave him at all, but staying by his side was a potential threat that could endanger his life at any time.

She could be his sweetheart, but also his poison. And she wasn't the only one who could be his sweetheart. With his power, he could easily obtain many things with a wave of his hand. But poison can kill people, and one only has one life. She should cherish it for him.

"Don't tell me that you're going to push me to other women just to make things better for me, then leave me far behind, and finally sever all ties with me and never see me again. Is that what you're thinking?"

She pursed her lips and remained silent, but her sad expression showed that he was right.

"You Shuyao, you've got some nerve, daring to admit it? I'm warning you, if you dare leave me without permission, you'd better pray you're never caught by me, otherwise the first thing I'll do is cripple your martial arts and confine you to Biyue Residence for life, forbidding you from leaving without permission. If you don't believe me, just try it and see if I, Huo Jingsha, keep my word!"

His voice grew louder and louder until it was almost a roar, making her ears ache. You Shuyao stared at his ferocious and intimidating face, speechless with astonishment. It seemed that she had never seen him yell at her like that since she had known him, not even when he saw her being forcibly kissed by Qi.

Huo Jingsha was truly enraged. He knew exactly what You Shuyao was thinking, but she had no idea what he was thinking. So, he decided to lay everything out with her clearly, to prevent her from crossing his line.

"Listen to me carefully. I can do whatever you want, and I can even listen to everything you say. I will spoil you and love you for the rest of my life. I will do everything I can to satisfy whatever you want. The only thing I cannot tolerate is leaving me. I will not allow it. You had better give up on that idea completely and never mention it again. If you dare to have even the slightest thought of leaving me, or even try to do it anyway, I guarantee that I will make you regret challenging my bottom line."

Those dark eyes were so deep that there was no hint of a joke in them; they held an unprecedented seriousness and coldness, and were extremely ruthless, like a lurking wild beast, fierce and chilling, as if they would rush over and devour her if she dared to have the slightest objection.

Such a man was undeniably intimidating, and Shu Yao's heart trembled slightly. Yet, she suddenly realized that this man harbored an almost obsessive devotion to her. He could resist the allure of any beautiful woman because he didn't easily fall in love with anyone, but once he did, he wouldn't let go easily.

Upon realizing this, she was both amused and exasperated. Yet she knew his threat was entirely serious and could not be taken lightly or disobeyed.

"Okay! I won't think about leaving you again," she promised. Somehow, what should have been a touching moment of mutual understanding and commitment turned into a torture session. He used intimidation and threats to force her to make a promise, and she willingly compromised.

Upon hearing her assurance, Huo Jingsha's cold and handsome face immediately turned from anger to joy, and he showered her with cloying tenderness, as if the person who had been snarling and baring teeth just moments before was not him at all.