Chapter 176 The Night Is Not Yet Over
The man turned around, his tall figure casting a shadow in the dim moonlight. He walked up to her, wanting to say something, but in the end he just reached out and ruffled her hair.
"I……"
"I'll go pack your things." Su Wantang interrupted him, put down her teacup, and stood up.
She turned and walked toward the bedroom without any hesitation.
Lu Jingyan looked at her slender yet upright back, his eyes churning with emotions deeper than the darkness of night.
He knew that beneath her calm surface lay a turbulent storm. This woman, who longed to "live" more than anyone else, feared separation most of all, especially separation that might mean never returning.
In the bedroom, Su Wantang did not touch the clothes that needed changing.
She opened Lu Jingyan's worn-out military canvas duffel bag, which contained only a few stiff training uniforms.
She reached inside, feeling around and checking the equipment he had prepared himself. Waterproof matches, a multi-tool, a high-precision compass... everything was there.
Then, she turned back to her dressing table and took out several small packets neatly wrapped in oil paper from a locked drawer.
She returned to Lu Jingyan's side, stuffed the paper package into the most hidden compartment of his luggage, and spoke in a low and quick voice.
"This is for stopping bleeding and promoting tissue regeneration. Just sprinkle the powder on any wound."
"This is for reducing fever. Take one if you catch a cold outside."
“And this…” She paused, looked up at him, and those peach blossom eyes that were always sparkling with moisture were now like a bottomless pool.
"Don't eat it unless absolutely necessary. Eating it might just bring you back to life."
Lu Jingyan didn't say anything, but instead pulled her into his arms from behind with an almost forceful pull.
His chest was hot and hard, like a red-hot iron, searing into her slender back. His chin rested on the top of her head, greedily inhaling the unique, cool scent of crabapple blossoms from her hair.
"Wantang, don't be afraid." His voice was terribly hoarse. "I will come back. I will come back to see you, safe and sound."
Su Wantang leaned against him, her tense body finally relaxing slightly. She closed her eyes and softly replied, "I'll wait for you."
...
Night has fallen.
The courtyard was so quiet you could hear the leaves falling to the ground.
Su Wantang tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. The heart that had been forcibly suppressed felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, throbbing with pain.
She simply put on a coat, got out of bed, and, as if possessed, walked to the backyard.
In the backyard, the open-air hot spring pool, built with spring water from the Western Hills, was emitting wisps of steam.
And sitting by the pool was someone she thought was already asleep.
Lu Jingyan sat shirtless on the bluestone by the pool, a pair of military trousers loosely tied around his waist.
The moonlight, like flowing mercury, outlined his broad back, his bulging muscles exuding power. The crisscrossing scars, far from appearing ferocious under the moonlight, instead added a wild and cruel beauty to him.
He seemed to be lost in thought, not even noticing her approaching.
Su Wantang stopped three steps behind him.
The only sounds in the air were the hissing of rising steam and her own increasingly loud heartbeat.
The next second, she made a decision that shocked even herself.
The silk robe she was wearing slipped silently to the ground.
Barefoot, she stepped onto the cool stone slabs and walked step by step into the warm water.
"Splash—"
The sound of water startled the man from his reverie.
Lu Jingyan turned around abruptly and saw a body, so beautiful it seemed unreal, bathed in moonlight and mist, walking towards him.
Her skin was more delicate and smooth than the white jade in the pool, her long hair cascaded down her back, wet and clinging to her shoulders, and her peach blossom eyes, shrouded in mist, possessed a natural allure, carrying a resolute determination that seemed to have nothing to lose.
His throat tightened, and his breath caught in his throat for a moment.
Su Wantang walked up to him, the water rippling just above her slender waist, making her ample bosom even more breathtaking.
She didn't speak, but simply stretched out her slightly cool arms and wrapped them around his neck. Then, tilting her head back, she kissed him with all her might.
This kiss was devoid of any tenderness.
With a desperate madness, with a hysterical possessiveness, with fear and reluctance towards the unknown.
A suppressed, beast-like growl escaped from Lu Jingyan's throat.
He grabbed the back of her head with his other hand, turning the tables and responding to her with an almost devouring manner.
"Splash—"
Huge splashes of water rose and fell.
The surface of the hot spring pool churned violently, and the steam rose even more intensely, completely enveloping the two people entangled in the pool.
The moonlight was shut out, leaving only the sounds of water, panting, and suppressed, intermittent murmurs.
"Wantang...my Wantang..."
"Jingyan...take me away..."
This night, no one is destined to sleep.
...
As the passion subsided, the surface of the hot spring pool finally returned to calm.
Su Wantang had no strength left in her body and lay limply on Lu Jingyan's firm chest, listening to his heartbeat like a war drum, one beat after another, steady and powerful.
Lu Jingyan had one arm around her, while the other hand gently stroked her smooth back.
After a long while, his deep voice finally rang out in the night.
"This mission is codenamed 'Snake Catching'."
Su Wantang's eyelashes fluttered, but she didn't make a sound. Instead, she pressed herself closer to him, trying to feel the resonance in his chest with her ears.
"The target is a core member of 'Eagle's Nest' who came from Europe and is in charge of biopharmaceutical research. We suspect that the harmful things at 'Benevolent Clinic' were his doing. He wants to smuggle himself across the border from the south to meet up with 'The Watchmaker'."
His voice was calm, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself, but Su Wantang could hear the overwhelming killing intent beneath that calm.
“After I leave, security at Compound No. 1 will be raised to the highest level.” Lu Jingyan lowered his head and kissed her forehead.
“Gao Jianjun will stay; his people are trustworthy. But you still need to be careful, especially with ‘Renxin Clinic.’ If we cut off their ‘miracle drug,’ they’ll definitely do something desperate.”
"Remember my words, never leave Compound No. 1 lightly. If you absolutely must go out, Gao Jianjun and Qin Zheng must go with you, understand?"
"Mmm," Su Wantang responded muffledly in his arms.
She knew that he was telling her in this way that he held her in the deepest part of his heart, and that even if he had to go to a war where life and death were uncertain, he would first build the strongest fortress for her.
It's almost dawn.
The eastern horizon was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.
Lu Jingyan rose silently and put on his crisp military uniform. The man who had been passionately devoted to the hot springs the night before had transformed back into the cold, resolute, and iron-willed military officer.
He walked to the bedside, leaned down, and placed a deeply cherished kiss on Su Wantang's smooth forehead.
"wait for me."
After saying that, he turned around, strode away, and never looked back.
The sound of the military jeep's engine faded into the distance and eventually disappeared into the dawn.
Su Wantang slowly sat up in bed, still wearing the military overcoat he had left behind, which still held his warmth. She walked to the window and stared at the direction the car had disappeared in, remaining motionless for a long time.
The tenderness, reluctance, and traces of passion left in her eyes gradually faded.
Instead, there was a chilling, cold silence.
Like a peerless sword hidden in its sheath, it slowly emerges after the person leaves, revealing its sharpness capable of cutting through anything.
Lu Jingyan went to the front lines to catch snakes.
Then she went to Beijing and wiped out the entire den of snakes.
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