I was a mineral prospector in Chengdu, who transmigrated into the body of a mortal sword immortal.

In Chengdu in late autumn of 2003, dusk came exceptionally early.

At 5:30 p.m., on a quiet side street on the west side of Tianfu Square, the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entire street an ominous orange-red, like congealed blood. Li Bai adjusted his slightly worn metal-framed glasses, his gaze behind the lenses fixed on a figure ten meters ahead.

His wife is Yang Xiaohuan.

Today she wore a fuchsia dress he had never seen before, perfectly tailored to accentuate her curves, and a pair of stilettos that clicked crisply on the concrete. This should have been a captivating sight for him, if one ignored the two men flanking her.

Two burly men, both over 1.8 meters tall and wearing tight black T-shirts, had ferocious blue dragon and tiger tattoos on their bare arms. They flanked Yang Xiaohuan, more like holding her hostage than "guarding" her, firmly "protecting" her in the middle. The three were walking towards a black Mercedes-Benz parked by the roadside.

"Xiao Huan!"

Li Bai's voice trembled slightly; he could hear the timidity in it himself. But he still called out and started to chase after him. He clutched a manila envelope tightly in his hand, containing the advice he had received that afternoon after taking leave from work and consulting with three law firms—advice on how to deal with the suddenly appearing divorce agreement.

Hearing the shout, Yang Xiaohuan stopped in her tracks.

She didn't turn around immediately, but first tilted her head slightly and whispered something to the bald, burly man with a scar on his face to her left. The bald man grinned, revealing a set of teeth stained yellow by smoking, then glanced at Li Bai, his eyes full of mockery and disdain.

Yang Xiaohuan then slowly turned around.

The setting sun cast a slanting glow from behind her, outlining a hazy halo around her. She wore exquisite makeup, her eyeliner deliberately upturned, and her lips a vibrant, true red. This alluring appearance was completely different from the wife Li Bai remembered, dressed in a simple cotton dress, plain-faced, cooking soup for him in the kitchen.

"Li Bai." Her voice was cold, like the damp chill of a rainy winter in Chengdu, seeping straight to the bone. "Why are you here again? Didn't I have Attorney Wang give you the agreement?"

"I...I won't sign." Li Bai took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound firm. He took a few steps forward and stopped about five meters away from them. At this distance, he could see Yang Xiaohuan's eyes more clearly—those almond-shaped eyes that were once full of gentle smiles, but now they were like two bottomless pools of cold water, calm on the surface, but something seemed to be churning violently deep inside.

"Xiao Huan, let's go home, okay?" Li Bai's voice softened, almost pleading. "Whatever it is, let's talk about it behind closed doors at home. Mom and Dad... do they need money again? We can figure something out, I..."

"Go home?" Yang Xiaohuan suddenly laughed, a clear laugh that carried a chilling undertone. "Go back to which home? Back to your old, dilapidated little place, less than sixty square meters with peeling paint? Or back to your tent in the mountains, where there's no cell phone signal?"

She took a step forward, the sound of her high heels clicking on the ground particularly clear in the empty street. The two tattooed men followed half a step behind her in perfect unison, like two silent and dangerous shadows.

"Li Bai, wake up!" Yang Xiaohuan's tone carried a deliberately feigned contempt. "Look at you, a geologist who spends all his time chipping away at rocks in the mountains. What can you do with the meager salary you earn in a month? It's not even enough for one dialysis treatment for my dad!"

Li Bai's face turned pale instantly. His father-in-law's uremia was the final straw that broke the camel's back for this family. The exorbitant medical expenses were like a bottomless pit, devouring their already meager savings.

"We can earn more money. I can apply for a more challenging project with higher subsidies. I can..."

"What can you do?" Yang Xiaohuan interrupted him, her voice suddenly rising in a hysterical shrillness. "Can you let me continue living this endless misery with you? Can you let me watch my parents suffer in their hospital beds every day, unable to even afford decent medicine?"

Her chest heaved violently, her bright red nail polished fingers almost poking Li Bai's nose: "Li Bai, I've had enough! All I want is money, only money that allows me and my family to live, to live well! And you, a penniless wretch, a bookworm who knows nothing but appreciating stones, what do you have to offer me? Your laughable love?"

Every word was like a cold knife, piercing Li Bai's heart. He felt a wave of dizziness, and his vision behind his glasses blurred. But he didn't look away, his gaze fixed on Yang Xiaohuan's eyes.

Deep within those deliberately cold, mocking, and heartless eyes, hidden beneath the heavy eye makeup, he caught a faint, almost imperceptible tremor. It wasn't disgust, nor contempt, but something deeper—sorrow, an overwhelming, impenetrable sorrow, and a hint of...desperate helplessness.

Like a small animal cornered on the edge of a cliff, trembling with fear, it has no choice but to bare its teeth and growl at the rescuers, trying to scare them away.

This discovery made Li Bai's heart skip a beat.

"No... Xiaohuan, you're not that kind of person." Li Bai's voice lowered, but became even more firm. "I know you're not. Tell me, what exactly happened? Did they force you?" His gaze swept over the two tattooed men, finally landing on Yang Xiaohuan's face. "Was it that Liu Han?"

Upon hearing the name "Liu Han," Yang Xiaohuan's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly. The bald, burly man on the left snorted coldly, took a half-step forward, and his massive body exuded a strong sense of oppression.

"Forcing me?" Yang Xiaohuan seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. She even exaggeratedly covered her mouth and laughed, but the laughter didn't reach her eyes at all. "Li Bai, don't flatter yourself. I chose this myself! President Liu can arrange the best hospital and the most expensive specialists for my dad. He can make sure my mom doesn't have to get up early and work late to set up her stall anymore. He can give me the life I want! And you? What can you give me? Besides being a burden, you're just a burden!"

She took a deep breath, as if using all her strength, and said, word by word, "I should have listened to that folk song, 'A good woman doesn't marry a geologist, she'll be alone all year round.' Marrying you was the worst decision I ever made! So, stop bothering me! Tomorrow is the deadline. Sign the divorce papers and send them to Attorney Wang. Otherwise..."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the two burly men beside her.

The bald, burly man clenched his fist at the opportune moment, his knuckles cracking. Another burly man with a crew cut pulled a switchblade from his waist, snapping it open with a "snap," the gleaming blade reflecting a blinding light in the setting sun.

"Otherwise, they'll make the choice for you." Yang Xiaohuan turned her face away, no longer looking at Li Bai, her voice cold and hard. "Now, get out. Don't let me see you again."

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the Mercedes.

"etc!"

Li Bai didn't know where the courage came from. Perhaps it was the deep sorrow hidden in his wife's eyes that pierced him, or perhaps it was the last instinct of a husband that was awakened. He suddenly rushed forward and reached out to grab Yang Xiaohuan's arm.

"Xiao Huan! Come home with me! You're my wife! I'm taking you home!"

The moment his fingers touched Yang Xiaohuan's arm, a tremendous force struck from the side.

It was that bald, burly man. He didn't even use his fist; he simply swung his thick arm casually, as if swatting away a fly, and slammed it hard into Li Bai's chest.

"Bang!"

A dull thud. Li Bai felt as if he had been hit head-on by a speeding bicycle. He staggered backward uncontrollably, tripped on the uneven ground, and fell heavily to the ground. The file folder in his hand flew out, scattering its papers all over the ground, rustling in the dusty autumn wind.

The glasses also fell off, and the lens cracked on the concrete floor.

The world instantly became blurry and distorted.

"Damn it, you're asking for it!" The bald, burly man spat, stepped forward, and raised his foot to kick Li Bai, who was lying on the ground.

"Brother Wei!" Yang Xiaohuan suddenly screamed, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly, "No...not here! In the car, we'll talk in the car!"

The bald, burly man known as "Brother Wei"—Liu Wei, Liu Han's younger brother and the number two figure in Liu Han's group—paused. He glanced back at Yang Xiaohuan, then looked around. Although there weren't many people on this street, it was still in the city, and some pedestrians in the distance had already stopped to watch.

"Hmph." Liu Wei withdrew his foot, squatted down, grabbed Li Bai by the collar, half-lifted him from the ground, and whispered in his ear in a chilling voice only the two of them could hear, "Kid, my brother has taken a liking to your wife, that's your good fortune. If you know what's good for you, obediently sign the papers, take that 200,000 yuan 'compensation' and get lost. If you dare to cause any more trouble..."

He patted Li Bai's pale cheek with his other hand, quite firmly: "Next time, it won't be as simple as just a fall. I heard you geologists often go out into the field? With high mountains and steep roads, it's normal to have some 'accidents,' right?"

The pungent smell of smoke hit Li Bai's face. Fear, like a cold, venomous snake, instantly coiled around his heart. He knew the power of Liu Han's group in Chengdu, and he knew their underlings were shady. He was just an ordinary technician, a scholar with nothing but professional knowledge.

Reason is screaming madly: Give up, sign the papers, at least you can still live, at least... at least Xiao Huan and her family can live a little better.

But when he raised his blurry vision and looked at Yang Xiaohuan a few steps away, her back to him and her shoulders trembling slightly, a more intense and domineering emotion overwhelmed his reason.

That wasn't the appearance of coveting wealth. It was an uncontrollable physiological reaction of a woman under immense pressure, forced to make choices against her will.

"Let...she go." Li Bai's voice was hoarse, yet unusually clear. He struggled, using all his strength to shake off Liu Wei's hand. "She's my wife...I'm taking her home!"

Liu Wei was taken aback, seemingly not expecting this seemingly weak and timid scholar to dare to speak like that after being struck. Then, a cruel look of interest appeared on his face.

"Oh, you're pretty tough, aren't you?" He loosened Li Bai's collar, letting the other man fall back to the ground, then slowly straightened up and winked at the burly man with the crew cut next to him.

The burly man with the crew cut understood, gripped his switchblade, and with a cat-and-mouse smile on his face, he approached Li Bai step by step.

"Li Bai! Hurry up and leave! Sign the papers! Hurry up and leave!" Yang Xiaohuan turned around abruptly, the carefully maintained cold mask on her face finally cracking, her voice filled with sobs and genuine fear. She tried to rush over, but Liu Wei grabbed her arm.

"Miss Yang, this is none of your business." Liu Wei's voice left no room for argument. "Get in the car and wait."

"No! Brother Wei! Please! He'll sign! He'll definitely sign tomorrow! No..." Yang Xiaohuan struggled, tears ruining her delicate eye makeup.

Li Bai sat on the ground, watching his wife's tearful pleas, watching the cold blade drawing ever closer in the dim light, watching the cruel smirk on Liu Wei's face. All his fear strangely subsided at that moment.

He suddenly remembered many things.

I remember back in college, he was a top student in the Geology Department of Tianfu University of Technology, receiving scholarships every year and considered a promising talent by his professors. I remember upon graduation, he gave up opportunities to stay at the university and work at a design institute, voluntarily applying for the most arduous field projects, simply because the pay was higher, allowing him to save money sooner to settle down in Chengdu and marry the girl he loved.

I remember the day I married Xiaohuan. She wore a rented wedding dress, her face beaming with smiles. She said she didn't care that the house was small, or that he was often out in the wild. As long as we were together, things would get better.

He recalled the day his father-in-law was diagnosed with uremia. Xiao Huan cried silently in his arms, and he held her and said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

But... he failed to protect her. His knowledge and diligence were as pale and powerless as a piece of paper in the face of true evil. He couldn't even protect himself.

The burly man with the crew cut had already walked up to him, looking down at him, the knife in his hand waving.

"I'll ask you one last time, sign or not?" Liu Wei lit a cigarette and asked slowly.

Li Bai raised his head, and through the shattered lens, his gaze passed over the burly man with the knife, over Liu Wei who was smoking, and finally landed on Yang Xiaohuan's face, which was covered in tears and firmly restrained by Liu Wei.

He saw the unfathomable sorrow in her eyes, and behind that despair, perhaps even she herself hadn't fully realized, a faint, spark-like hope.

What was she expecting? Was she expecting him to save her from her predicament like a hero? But he was just a weak and powerless scholar.

But at least... at least he can choose not to compromise.

At least, he could let her know that there was someone in this world who was willing to fight for her, even at the cost of his life, not for money or any other benefit, but simply because she was his wife.

This may seem silly, naive, and powerless.

But this may be the only thing he can offer that matches the pure love they once shared.

Li Bai used his hands to support himself on the ground and slowly but steadily stood up. He dusted himself off and adjusted his crooked, broken glasses, though his vision was still blurry.

Then, he looked at Liu Wei and said clearly:

"I won't sign."

"She is my wife. As long as I live, I will never abandon her."

"Today, I'm taking her home."

The moment the words fell, time seemed to stretch out.

He saw the cold smile on Liu Wei's face freeze, then transform into utter ruthlessness. He saw a fierce glint flash in the burly man's eyes. He saw Yang Xiaohuan's eyes widen suddenly, her lips trembling as if she wanted to shout something, but no sound came out.

Then comes the action.

The burly man with the crew cut seemed to be enraged by Li Bai's "lack of appreciation." Without hesitation, he gripped his switchblade and stabbed it towards Li Bai's thigh—clearly, they didn't intend to kill him immediately, but only wanted to teach him a lesson he would never forget.

If it were the usual Li Bai, he might have dodged, or he might have been so frightened that he froze.

But at this moment, a strange calm enveloped him. Perhaps it was the utmost despair, or perhaps his mind was made up. In that split second, instead of retreating, he faced the blade head-on, using all his strength to charge towards Yang Xiaohuan!

He just wanted to be closer to her, even if it was just an inch closer.

This completely unexpected movement caused the bald man's blade to deviate from its original target.

"Pfft—"

A soft, muffled thud, like a sharp blade piercing flesh.

There was no severe pain in my thigh as I had expected.

Li Bai felt a chill in his chest, followed by an indescribable, explosive burning pain that instantly swept through his entire body. All his strength and consciousness rapidly drained away with the excruciating pain.

He lowered his head.

Through his blurry vision, he could see a gleaming silver blade embedded in his left chest. The hilt was in the hand of a burly man with a crew cut, who also looked surprised. He clearly hadn't expected Li Bai to run into him, much less to pierce such a vital spot.

The world's voices are rapidly fading away.

Liu Wei's angry curses and the burly man's panicked explanations became distant and indistinct. Only Yang Xiaohuan's piercing scream pierced through all the barriers and stabbed fiercely into his fading consciousness.

"No--!!!"

Li Bai struggled to lift his head, looking one last time in the direction from which the sound came.

Yang Xiaohuan had broken free from Liu Wei's grasp and was rushing towards him desperately. Her makeup was completely ruined by tears, and her beautiful face was now filled with boundless fear and despair. She opened her mouth, as if calling his name, but Li Bai could no longer hear her.

His vision began to darken, like ink dripping into clear water, spreading rapidly.

But before the last glimmer of light was swallowed up, he clearly saw Yang Xiaohuan's eyes.

There was no longer any feigned coldness and ruthlessness, only naked, heart-wrenching grief, regret, and... the deepest, most unreserved love for him.

So it turns out... she had always loved him.

It turns out that all those hurtful words and heartless performances were to protect him.

This realization caused an intense surge of resentment and anger to well up in Li Bai's heart, which was on the verge of stopping!

Why should I?!

Why should two people who love each other be forced into this situation by evil forces?!

Why should kind people suffer while evildoers go unpunished?!

Why is it that despite his vast knowledge, he couldn't even protect the person he most wanted to protect?!

I'm not reconciled!

I will protect her!

No matter the cost!

**No matter where you go!**

A burning obsession, almost consuming his soul, erupted from the core of his fading consciousness! It wasn't a physical flame, but something more essential and intense—a roar against the injustice of fate, a longing for his loved ones that transcended life and death!

In the instant this obsession erupted, Li Bai felt his "consciousness" or "soul" being abruptly pulled out of his rapidly cooling body!

He "saw" his own body lying in a pool of blood, saw Yang Xiaohuan collapsing beside him and crying uncontrollably, saw Liu Weiping, a burly man with a flat head, frantically making phone calls, and saw passersby finally screaming to call the police in the distance...

Then, all the images began to distort and spin, like fragments thrown into a vortex.

dark.

The boundless darkness.

But this darkness was not empty. He felt himself being pulled by an irresistible, immense force, plummeting rapidly towards some unknown, profound place. The concepts of time and space blurred here; only countless bizarre fragments of images flew around him—majestic snow-capped mountains, bustling ancient capitals, soaring sword energy, captivating smiles… some familiar, some strange.

Falling, falling endlessly.

Consciousness teetered and sank amidst the chaos, but the unwavering resolve to "protect" remained, like a lighthouse in the darkness, never extinguished. Instead, it absorbed something as it traversed this strange dimension, growing ever more solid and powerful...

I don't know how much time has passed; it might be a moment, or it might be ten thousand years.

The pulling force suddenly disappeared.

The feeling of falling has transformed into a tangible sense of "presence".

Next comes the return of touch.

Beneath me lay a soft, elastic cushion, and a sweet, cloying scent—a blend of cosmetics, incense, and a woman's natural fragrance—was lingering around my nose. I could almost hear soft breathing, and warm breaths gently brushed against my neck.

Li Bai suddenly opened his eyes.

What comes into view is an antique, deep red wooden carved bed canopy, and a light, red gauze curtain hanging down from it. A dim light filters in from outside the curtain, seemingly from candlelight.

He turned his neck stiffly and extremely slowly.

Then, he saw a beautiful and alluring face right up to him.

Her hair was slightly disheveled, her skin was like solidified cream, her eyebrows were like distant mountains, and her eyes held the gentle warmth of spring water. She was an extremely beautiful young woman, dressed only in a light pink gauze dress, nestled beside him, fast asleep. One of her jade-like arms was still draped over his chest.

Where is this...?

Heaven? Hell?

still is……

A soft, slightly reproachful female voice, still languid from just waking up, rang in his ear:

"My darling...you're awake? Why are you staring at me like that? Didn't you get enough of me last night?"