After flirting with the aloof prince, the concubine ran away pregnant.

He sat upright on a tall black horse, dressed in a black outfit that made his face appear even more cold and aloof.

His gaze swept across the chaotic scene and precisely locked onto Afu, who was being held hostage, and the man in black behind her.

In that instant, the air pressure around him seemed to drop to freezing point.

At the same time, the windows of the attics on both sides of the street were suddenly pushed open, and Dali Temple guards holding crossbows leaned out, their countless dark arrows aimed at the men in black in the scene.

A net, as big as the sky, was cast in an instant.

The man in black clearly hadn't expected Xie Xun to arrive so quickly. Holding Afu hostage, he involuntarily took two steps back, his voice revealing a hint of mad ruthlessness.

"Xie Xun! Tell your men to back off! Otherwise I'll kill her right now!" He pushed the dagger in half a step further, and a thin line of blood immediately seeped from Afu's neck.

"I heard it, she's your woman!"

The man, as if grasping at a last straw, screamed frantically, "If you dare take one step forward, I'll slit her throat right now!"

"Brother!" Xie Yun was so frightened that her heart almost jumped out of her chest. She looked at the bloodstains on Afu's neck and was extremely anxious.

She glanced at the bow and arrow tightly gripped in Xie Xun's hand, and suddenly remembered something. Mustering her courage, she stepped forward and shouted, "You...you mustn't hurt her! I am the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yongning, Xie Xun's own sister! Release her, and I'll take your place! I'm worth far more than a maidservant. If you hold me, I guarantee my brother will spare your life!"

Upon hearing this, the man in black swept his sinister gaze over Xie Yun, then let out a sneer: "The legitimate daughter of a marquis's family? Do you think I'm a fool? Do you think I'd leave the capital alive after taking you hostage?"

He clearly understood that the weight of a maidservant and the legitimate daughter of a marquis was completely different.

Xie Yun's plan failed, and she was at a loss for what to do. Helplessly, she looked at her brother, only to see that Xie Xun had dismounted at some point, still holding the heavy, dark iron bow.

He walked slowly towards them, step by step. His steps were steady, his expression indifferent, as if the person being held hostage was a complete stranger.

"Stop right there! Don't come any closer!" The man in black was agitated, and the blade in his hand trembled violently.

Xie Xun stopped and looked at him from seven or eight steps away. His thin lips parted slightly, and the words he uttered were more piercing than the winter wind.

"She was just a lowly servant in my courtyard. Now that she's dead, we'll just buy another one." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly through the quiet street, reaching everyone's ears.

"When I'm handling a case, how could I be swayed by the life of a mere servant?"

Afu's body suddenly stiffened.

All the surrounding sounds—Li Rui's mockery, the exclamations of passersby, Xie Yun's cries—seemed to vanish in that instant.

In her world, all that remained was Xie Xun's indifferent face and his words, "If he dies, just buy another one."

Rationally, she understood that he was deliberately putting pressure on her, trying to shake the kidnapper's composure, in order to find an opportunity to rescue her.

But my heart still felt like it had been ripped out by those words.

"Release her now and surrender," Xie Xun's voice was devoid of any warmth as he took another step closer. "Perhaps I can spare your body."

The man in black was stunned by his complete disregard for the hostage's life or death, and a hint of hesitation and panic flashed in his eyes.

He took hostages in order to find a way to survive, but now it seems that the hostages are worthless in Xie Xun's eyes!

In that very instant when his mind wavered!

"call out--"

A sharp whistling sound rang out!

A black blur, so fast it was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye, struck the neck of the man in black behind her with lightning speed, grazing the stray strands of hair at Afu's temple!

The force was so great that it caused the man to stagger backward and become embedded in the pillar behind him.

Before the man in black could even let out a scream, his eyes widened like copper bells, the dagger in his hand clattered to the ground, and his body slid limply to the ground.

Almost at the same moment the arrow left the bowstring, Xie Xun moved.

Like an arrow released from a bow, he instantly covered the distance of those few steps, and just before Afu's body was about to collapse to the ground, he grabbed her waist and forcefully pulled her into his arms.

Afu's body was limp, and she had almost no strength, so she was practically hanging on Xie Xun.

The hard chest made her feel suffocated. The familiar scent of soap and ink enveloped her, but it couldn't dispel the lingering coldness of the blade on her neck or the chill brought by the words in her heart.

If it dies, just buy another one.

The chaotic sounds around me seemed to come through a layer of water, making them difficult to hear clearly.

Xie Xun felt the person in his arms trembling slightly, their face as white as paper.

He thought she was terrified. After all, she was a woman, and it was already remarkable that she didn't cry out after suddenly experiencing such a life-or-death situation.

He tightened his grip on her arm, and with his free hand, he patted her back stiffly, the movement quite awkward.

"It's alright now," he said softly, his voice still carrying the coldness and hardness of when he fired that arrow, but his tone had softened considerably.

This scene left everyone around dumbfounded.

The Dali Temple subordinates following Xie Xun were used to seeing their superior's impartial and decisive demeanor when handling cases. They had never seen him so... tender before.

Although the patting motion on the back was more like brushing off dust than comforting.

The subordinates looked at each other with surprise in their eyes, then lowered their heads in unison, pretending they hadn't seen anything.

It's so strange to see my own parents like this.

"Brother!" Xie Yun finally snapped out of her shock. She ran over, lifting her skirt, and when she saw the bloodstains on Afu's neck, her eyes immediately reddened. "Afu, how are you? You've bled so much!"

Xie Xun glanced down and saw a thin, long gash on Afu's neck, from which blood was slowly seeping out, staining her plain collar red.

His brows furrowed even more, but the person in his arms remained silent, staring blankly ahead, as if their soul had been lost.

"Where is your carriage?" Xie Xun asked Xie Yun, looking up at her.

"Huh? Oh, it's at that street corner over there..." Xie Yun was taken aback by his question and subconsciously pointed in that direction.

"Have the shopkeeper escort you back." Xie Xun, carrying Afu, turned and walked in that direction, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I'll take her back to the manor first."

Xie Yun stood there, completely stunned.

She knew that Afu was seriously injured and in a critical condition, but was it too much to just leave her own sister on the street like that?

At least ask her if she was frightened.

"Pfft."

An untimely laugh came from the side.

Xie Yun turned her head and saw that the playboy Li Rui was watching her with a smug look on his face, waving his fan.

"Miss Xie, your brother doesn't want you anymore." Li Rui grinned from ear to ear.