Jinhai Military Hospital
The corridors rang with the sharp clang of boots and clipped orders.Security had sealed the entire wing — no visitors, no press, no outsiders.Only the hum of machines and the smell of antiseptic hung in the air.
Inside the emergency unit, Mo Shenyu stood like a storm contained in human form.His shirt, once white, was streaked with blood. Veins pulsed along his bare forearms as his fists clenched and unclenched — fury held on a knife's edge.Doctors and nurses moved around him in frightened silence.
"She's still unconscious, sir—" ventured the senior doctor.
Shenyu's gaze snapped to him — cold, lethal."Then get the chief surgeon. Now."
The last moments of the Dragon Gate flickered in his mind like broken film:Her face, pale beneath the blue scarf.Her voice—"Watch out."The flash of red as she threw herself between him and death.And the blood — her blood — soaking his hands.He hadn't even known her name.
"Sir… the chief surgeon isn't necessary," the doctor stammered. "The bullet passed through cleanly. No vital organs hit. We've treated the wound—"
"Then why isn't she awake?"His voice was low, but it carried the weight of thunder.
The doctor swallowed hard. "Her system shows severe fatigue. Long-term malnutrition, heavy strain… her body's simply shut down to recover."
Mo Shenyu's jaw flexed, a muscle ticking. "When will she wake up?"
"Soon, sir. She just needs rest—"
"President Mo, we have a situation."Xia Feng, his trusted bodyguard, burst through the door, breath tight from urgency."The Chu family has surrounded the building. They're demanding an immediate audience."
Mo Shenyu's eyes narrowed. The Chu family. He had seen them at Dragon Gate — Old Master Chu himself among the crowd, his heir Chu Zhenhua at his side. And when the chaos began, their people had intervened — but not against him.
It was definitely not because of his relationship with Dr.Chu Jian, the youngest master of the Chu family. Not only was that patient-doctor relationship confidential, the Chu family since their accident 15 years ago, stopped openly taking sides in the power struggles.
Mo Shenyu remembered that deep gut wrenching "No" he had heard the minute XL had been shot. The shout had come from somewhere in the lower tiers where the Chu family had been cutting a path through the Chen family. Could they be here for her?
"Keep them waiting," he said flatly.
"Sir, they're insisting—"
"I said wait." His tone was a command, not a suggestion.
He turned back toward the ICU doors, toward the still form beyond the glass. She had a stunning face; a sharp nose, a small chin, and big beautiful eyes. That beautiful face was now unfortunately half hidden beneath oxygen tubes and gauze, looking unnaturally pale.
His heart twisted painfully.He, who had never bowed to a bullet, who had faced death on battlefields and in boardrooms, now stood helpless before one unconscious girl.
"XL…" he whispered under his breath. "Don't you dare leave me."
Xueling was trapped in a nightmare. She dreamed of her past life, of her last few days in the sanitorium when the poison was slowly invading her limbs. She saw her evil sister approach her step by step, felt the cold end of the knife cut through her.
No!! she screamed soundlessly. Not again! She watched helplessly as once again, her 'sister' walked away taking everything from her. She had fallen prey to her family's schemes again. As her eyes were about to close...
Then —A crash. The door burst open.
A man's voice cut through the chaos.
"Xueling!!"
He ran to her, eyes wild, hands trembling as he pressed down on her wound.
"Hold on, I'm here! Don't close your eyes — not yet!"
He shouted for the doctors, begged them to save her.When they whispered that it was too late, something in him broke. He held her against his chest, her blood staining his shirt as he whispered apology after apology.When the light finally left her eyes, he held her close for a long long time. Then finally, as if unable to part with her, he set her down — gently, reverently — then walked away.
But the dream didn't end there.
She saw him again, in places she that were immensely familiar and yet weren't — cutting through the Jinhai families like a storm.
The Fengs fell first, then the Gus, then even the Mos trembled under his wrath.
And when it was done, he returned to her cold body, laid beside her, and closed his eyes with the peace of a man who had nothing left to live for.
No… no, don't do this… you have to live!
Her voice echoed uselessly in the void. His peaceful expression wavered, reshaping — his mouth forming the words she'd heard only hours ago:
"Watch out!"
The roar of gunfire.The blinding flash of light.The memory of strong arms pulling her close.
Mo Shenyu.
It was him.He had been the man from her past life — the one who had found her, saved her, and avenged her.
And now—he was the one she had protected.
No! Mo Shenyu! Don't die!
Xueling's body arched against the sheets, heart hammering, sweat cold on her brow.The world came rushing back — the hum of machines, the sterile light, and the faint antiseptic smell of a hospital.
With a strangled gasp, Xueling's eyes flew open.