The moonlight shines brighter, and the cold night grows colder.

After an unknown amount of time, the man in black finally returned under the moonlight, while the girl sitting on the bridge had already fallen asleep.

Qi Chang'an bent down and quietly looked at her sleeping face for a while. She was not sleeping soundly. Compared to sleeping with her head buried in her knees against the railing of the stone bridge, it must be more comfortable to sleep on the soft bed.

But Qi Chang'an felt a tenderness in his heart as he looked at her. This was a rare experience, after all, he had never had such an experience before meeting her. If this feeling were to be attributed to a woman, most people would probably say it was because of maternal instincts and an overflowing maternal love.

Qi Chang'an didn't think that his feelings for her were like that, but if he had to find a suitable word to describe them, he couldn't.

Whether or not this feeling can be defined, he is happy to enjoy his current state.

Qi Chang'an took off his black coat and draped it over her shoulders. Then he picked her up from the ground. She was very light, something he had known for a long time. She was also very fragile, something he had known since their first meeting.

But Qi Chang'an suddenly felt that she was terribly fragile. She seemed so small in his arms, and a disease or a natural disaster could kill her.

Qi Chang'an never worried about natural disasters or man-made calamities. He always believed that if he were to die, it would be his fate, so he didn't need to worry. But now... he suddenly started to worry about something he had never worried about before.

Qi Chang'an carried Feng Guang across the street where pedestrians had thinned out. His aura was low, as if he had become separated from everyone else into two different worlds, except for the fact that he was still closely connected with the girl in his arms.

"Qi Chang'an..." Feng Guang groggily opened her eyes because of the noise from the vendors along the way. She murmured softly, "I counted to one hundred and three... You lied to me..."

"I'm sorry, it was my fault for not returning in time." Qi Chang'an lowered his eyes and spoke softly, "Feng Guang can punish me however he wants."

"It's okay..." Feng Guang closed her eyes again, and before falling asleep, she unconsciously murmured, "I counted too fast... You're not late..."

Her voice grew softer and softer until only faint, long breaths could be heard; she had fallen asleep again.

Qi Chang'an shook his head and chuckled. He could have easily used his light-footed skills to take her back quickly, but he didn't. Instead, he carried her slowly, step by step, down the street before finally taking her back to her room.

When Qi Chang'an closed the door and came out, it was already dawn. But he wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, he turned around, looked at a dark corner, and said, "Since you're here, why not come out and meet me?"

As his words fell, a man slowly emerged from the darkness. It was Wanxuan, dressed in plain clothes. In the night, his figure appeared even thinner, and in his hand was a string of candied hawthorns.

"I didn't know that what Alliance Leader Qi meant by 'keeping an eye on Junior Sister' was actually staying in her room for so long." Wan Xuan said politely with a smile, "Is this Alliance Leader Qi's custom in the martial arts world?"

"Before Fengguang, I had never looked after anyone else, so it's not really a matter of江湖规则 (jianghu rules)." Alliance Leader Qi smiled. "I just wanted to stay with Fengguang a little longer, so I did it."