The job change is a bizarre and calamity; the nation begs me to tone it down.

Gu Xu's expression froze instantly.

He looked down at the glistening drool stain on the back of his hand, then at Jiang Shu's oblivious sleeping face, and a complex, indescribable emotion welled up inside him.

Moved?

A little.

Is it disgusting?

A little more.

Is this little brat using his hand as a pillow?

Or is it used as a teething toy?

"How long have those two been guarding my bedside...?"

Gu Xu muttered to himself.

Despite the complaints, I couldn't help but feel a little warm inside.

The fact that he could make two people so tense shows that his life is still worth something.

Gu Xu was about to gently pull his hand out—after all, his hand was almost numb from being gripped so tightly—when his right hand moved slightly.

Just a very slight movement.

Jiang Shu's reaction was comparable to a conditioned reflex on the battlefield.

Her eyes snapped open in a flash, faster than a spring.

She groggily raised her head, her sleepy eyes meeting Gu Xu's pale but clearly alive face.

Time seemed to freeze for half a second.

Then--

"Your Highness, ahhhhhh!!!"

A scream powerful enough to pierce through three walls exploded directly in the ward.

Gu Xu was so startled by the loud voice that he trembled all over, almost causing the monitoring patches on his body to fly off.

He wasn't intimidated at all when facing the Abyss Emperor's Source-level projection inside the dimensional rift.

When he returned to the safe headquarters, he was nearly scared to death by his own men.

"Damn it, keep your voice down!"

Gu Xu bared his teeth and yelled, "You want to send me away as soon as I woke up?!"

However, Jiang Shu wouldn't listen to any of it.

The little girl's tears flowed like a faucet that couldn't be turned off.

She grabbed Gu Xu's hand and jumped up and down, as excited as if she had won a five million lottery.

"Your Highness, you're finally awake! Do you know how long you've been asleep?! Three days and three nights! Three days and three nights!"

"I thought you'd never wake up again, so I even started looking for a burial plot for you, you know that!"

"I've already found that prime location in the western suburbs of Longjing; all that's left is to pay the deposit!"

Gu Xu's lips twitched violently.

"...You're such a good sister to me. Instead of wasting your time, why don't you consider buying me an insurance policy?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I checked the insurance too! But no insurance company would dare to take your case due to your risk level..."

"Shut up!"

Jiang Shu's piercing scream also woke up Su Qiong on the other side.

Su Qiong suddenly raised her head, her wine-red hair scattered messily on the sides of her face.

There was still a lingering sense of confusion in her eyes as she awoke from a dream, but when those eyes met Gu Xu's grinning face, all the confusion vanished in an instant.

Instead, a deluge of complex emotions overwhelmed everything.

There was joy, heartache, and lingering fear, but more than anything, there was a sense of grievance that had been suppressed for far too long and was finally being released.

Su Qiong's lips parted slightly, and her eyes reddened visibly.

Then--

"Snapped!"

A punch landed squarely on Gu Xu's chest.

Although the force wasn't great, it still made Gu Xu, who was now so weak he was practically a cripple, cry out in pain.

"Does it hurt?"

Gu Xu asked instinctively.

What he really wanted to ask was if he was in pain, but his mouth spoke before his brain could process it.

Su Qiong did not answer the question.

Without saying a word, she bent down and hugged Gu Xu on the hospital bed.

They held on so tightly, as if they were holding the most precious thing in the world, knowing it would disappear if they let go.

"Gu Xu, you bastard!"

Su Qiong's muffled voice came from his shoulder, trembling and nasal.

"Why are you carrying this burden alone? Pushing others aside while you stay behind to cover the retreat?"

"Do you know how scared I was when you were left alone in that awful place?"

As Su Qiong spoke, her voice trembled more and more, until finally she was practically gritting her teeth as she spoke.

"If you dare do that again, I...I'll..."

"What?"

Gu Xu's tone suddenly became very soft, even carrying a hint of roguishness.

He extended his left hand, which had been held for three days and three nights and whose extremities were almost numb, and gently patted Su Qiong's head twice.

"Alright, alright, sir! Stop crying, it's nothing serious."

Su Qiong gave a muffled groan on his shoulder, whether from anger or grievance, it was hard to tell, but she wouldn't let go of his arm.

Jiang Shu, who was standing to the side, wiped away her tears and then moved to a different spot, pretending to be studying the ceiling lights.

But she was still muttering to herself, "The Crown Prince is being hugged by a beautiful woman, the Crown Prince is so lucky, why doesn't the Crown Prince give me a hug..."

Gu Xu ignored her and let Su Qiong hug him for a while.

Su Qiong's emotions gradually calmed down, and she let go of his hand, sitting back in her chair with red eyes.

Gu Xu then began to change the subject with a playful smile.

What he excels at most is being a master at disrupting a serious atmosphere.

"Actually, you don't need to be so nervous."

Gu Xu flexed his stiff fingers as he spoke in an extremely nonchalant tone.

"Those seafood items were nothing special, they fell apart while being fought, not worth mentioning."

Upon hearing this, Su Qiong immediately wanted to punch him again.

Four demigods plus one source-level projection, and you call them "just so-so"?

Do you think everyone is as heartless as you?

But before Su Qiong could react, Gu Xu's next move completely diverted her attention.

Gu Xu closed his eyes slightly, and with a thought, four rings emitting a faint glow appeared out of thin air in his palm.

Each ring contains extremely powerful energy fluctuations; simply by lying quietly in his palm, it can cause a slight distortion in the surrounding air.

"See that?"

Gu Xu waved the four rings in front of Su Qiong, grinning like a fox who had stolen a chicken.

"Four demigod-level storage rings, those seafood demigods always carried them with them. Although they turned to ash, their belongings didn't go with them."

Su Qiong was stunned.

Jiang Shu also turned her head in astonishment.

Gu Xu continued to rummage around, looking smug.

The storage space glowed again, and he magically dumped a bunch of odds and ends onto the hospital bed.

Three portions of deep-sea elixirs, several demigod-level materials, a few core crystals imbued with powerful auras of rules, and even a few demigod weapons of exceptional quality...

The pile of odds and ends filled up to almost half of the hospital bed.

Gu Xu arranged the items one by one like a street vendor, then looked up at the two dumbfounded people and raised an eyebrow.

"This is the real gain, don't you understand?"

"You think I stayed there alone just to generate electricity out of love? I was cleaning up the spoils!"

"Have you calculated how much all these things are worth? Let me tell you, just those few demigod core crystals alone, any one of them could be enough to open three shops in the most prosperous area of ​​Longjing."