The horse kept moving restlessly, the flashlight’s beam flickering sharply, painfully bright. Lance Quinn had to raise his hand to shield his eyes. Serena Feng couldn’t see the sorrow in Lance’s gaze—she only heard him say, “Serena, if that day ever comes, I don’t need you to save me. Just live well yourself.”
With his skills, if he ever faced real danger, it would never be a trivial matter. If there were people or things even he couldn’t overcome, how could Serena possibly handle them…
He didn’t want Serena to make a pointless sacrifice. It wasn’t worth it!
“I can’t do that. If you were really in danger and I knew about it but didn’t try to save you, I’d regret it for the rest of my life. If something happened to you because of that, I’d live forever in guilt. Lance Quinn, I’m selfish. I refuse to let myself live with regret or self-blame.” If Lance Quinn was ever in danger, she’d rather die trying to save him than spend her life regretting she didn’t act, letting him get hurt or worse…
She never wanted to be the kind of person who’d say, ‘If only I had done this or that back then…’
At this point, Lance Quinn had to admit—even he couldn’t persuade Serena, just as she couldn’t change his mind. He lowered his hand, letting the harsh light sweep over him…
“Serena, do you really have to go? Is there nothing that could change your mind?”
“Yes.”
“Even if I killed your mount with one stroke, would you still go?” Lance Quinn’s sword was pressed to the horse’s neck. Startled, the horse jerked, the blade drawing blood—a thin line appeared, making it more frantic.
“Lance Quinn, put the sword away.” Serena quickly soothed the frightened horse.
Lance Quinn silently sheathed his sword. He had a thousand ways to stop Serena Feng from leaving, but he couldn’t…
If he stopped Serena from searching for William Wang Jinling, and William happened to die, Serena might hate him for life—and live with that guilt forever.
Once the horse calmed down, Serena breathed a sigh of relief and checked its wound. She pulled out a small bottle of medicine from her pack and sprinkled it on the injury. Only after making sure the horse was fine did she look up at Lance Quinn and say, “Lance Quinn, we’re friends. I’m not your possession. Don’t make decisions for me. Move aside—I have to get going.”
Serena was genuinely afraid Lance Quinn would kill her horse. In such a short time, there was no way she could find another mount as fast as the Blackcloud Stallion.
Lance Quinn gave a bitter, self-mocking smile.
Right—who was he to Serena Feng, anyway? What right did he have to make decisions for her, or to decide whether she should go save William Wang Jinling? In Serena’s heart, William weighed far more than Lance Quinn ever could.
Lance Quinn stepped back a few paces, clearing the way. “I’m sorry. I overstepped.”
“No, I appreciate your concern. But we’re just friends, and we can only ever be friends. Friends should respect each other, not force their own will on the other.” Seeing the hurt and defeated look in Lance Quinn’s eyes made Serena uncomfortable. She knew how he felt about her, but her heart belonged to Ninth Royal Uncle. She was destined to let Lance Quinn down.
Since that was the case, she refused to give Lance Quinn any false hope—better to let him know there was none, than to let him expect something and end up disappointed. Serena forced herself to ignore the cold loneliness radiating from Lance Quinn, turning her gaze away. “Lance Quinn, I’m leaving.”
“Hyah!” Serena snapped her whip, squeezed her horse’s flanks, and galloped off, leaving Lance Quinn behind.
To save William Wang Jinling, she could even set aside Prince Nolan—there was no way Lance Quinn could hold her back…
She left without a trace of regret. Even if he set aside his pride and begged her to stay, it wouldn’t matter.
The moment Serena left, Lance Quinn felt as if she had carved out his heart. Serena was worried about William Wang Jinling, but he was just as worried about Serena—except she didn’t care about his concern at all.
His heart ached, but even so, Lance Quinn still shared the news he had: “Serena Feng, the person you’re looking for is in Taroko Grand Canyon.”
He hoped Serena would return soon. She’d never understand how anxious and uneasy he felt, waiting in the imperial capital.
Dust swirled as Lance Quinn stood where he was, watching Serena’s figure disappear into the distance, letting the dust envelop him—unmoving for a long time…
“Thank you…” Serena’s shout of gratitude was carried back by the wind, but to Lance Quinn, it sounded bitterly ironic.
His woman left right in front of him—to save another man—and all he could do was watch, not even sure he had the right to stop her.
When would he finally be able to face Serena openly? When could he hold her in his arms without restraint and tell her, “I don’t like how good you are to William Wang Jinling.”
He was sick of all these secretive interactions—and even more sick of the way Serena treated him so differently.
As the first ray of sunlight touched the earth, Lance Quinn finally moved—racing toward the imperial capital.
Serena was gone. He would have to handle the aftermath in the capital for her. No matter how unhappy he was, he couldn’t bear to let Serena be punished for leaving without permission.
A woman traveling alone was certainly at risk. Even if she didn’t seek trouble, trouble would find her. And Serena didn’t stick to the main roads—she always took the shortest route, which only increased her danger.
Serena had considered disguising herself as a man, but with her looks and figure, dressing as a man would only make her stand out more.
After seven days on the road, Serena’s face showed unmistakable exhaustion. The dust and travel dulled her beauty a little, but that didn’t stop people with ulterior motives.
She’d noticed someone tailing her an hour ago. For anyone to keep up with the Blackcloud Stallion, they clearly weren’t ordinary. Serena worried they might be from the Wang clan, so she deliberately led them in circles and, at a fork in the road, took the opposite direction into the woods—using the trees to hide herself.
“Boss, where is she? That girl’s vanished!”
A group of twelve men entered Serena’s line of sight. Judging by their outfits, they were martial world types—rugged and intimidating.
“The hoofprints end here. She must be hiding. Everyone, dismount and search the area. If you can’t find her, at least find the horse. That girl’s mount is a fine steed—selling it would fetch at least ten thousand silver taels. With that money, we won’t have to worry about our expenses in the martial world.”
What?
They weren’t from the Wang clan, nor were they after her beauty—they wanted her horse.
Seriously? Serena felt a bit insulted—damn it, they didn’t care about her at all, just the horse. She couldn’t even compare to her own mount. That was harsh…
The worst part was—even so-called martial heroes were greedy. Turns out heroes were just people too, with bills to pay. TV dramas had lied to her…
Fine then! She’d act as Heaven’s agent and, in the name of the moon, take down these so-called heroes who were really just robbers.