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The girl's panic didn't look fake. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were too ragged to qualify as modest. Underneath, her skin was pale. Her feet were bare, and she bit her lip as she rushed toward Ye Zichen and his companions.

Yang Jian's gaze was cold. He pushed the girl back, preventing her from drawing near.

The girl only grew even more panicked. She couldn't help but beg, and even kneel.

"A demon!" Ye Zichen knit his brows. He could sense a clear miasma emanating from the girl, the hallmark of the demon race.

Ye Zichen had no love for demons whatsoever.

"What beautiful eyes!" Pu Jingwan gasped. In response, Ye Zichen looked into the girl's eyes as well.

They really were beautiful.

They were as clear and blue as the sky or the ocean, without any impurities whatsoever. Just looking into those eyes seemed to cleanse his soul.

After begging several times to no end, the girl fell to the ground and sobbed. She was pitiful and helpless; running into Ye Zichen's group had been her final hope. Now, even that was dashed.

"How about we….?" Pu Jingwan started to speak up. The girl's sobs made her heart ache.

Under ordinary circumstances, she would have called the girl to her side a long time ago, then protected and cared for her. She would have wiped away the girl's tears.

But this was different.

She was currently on a mission, so all the decision-making power was in her boss's hands. All she had to do was ensure her boss's absolute safety. As for the rest, it wasn't her place to even think about it.

That's why, before she finished her sentence, she forced it back down.

Nevermind Pu Jingwan's heartache, even Yang Jian felt sorry for the girl. He silently lowered his hand and glanced at Ye Zichen. Although he didn't say anything, his movements alone showed what he was thinking.

The girl was still crying and wiping away her tears. She lowered her head in defeat and despair.

She didn't want to run anymore.

The moment she lost her way in panic and found herself in the chaotic void, she lost all hope of winning back her freedom.

Run….

Could she escape rulers?

All running would do was delay the inevitable. They'd still catch her in the end. She couldn't change her fate.

When she ran into Ye Zichen's group, although she could tell they were gods, she still felt a sliver of hope.

But the results didn't live up to her expectations.

She wouldn't run anyway.

She couldn't run anymore.

She'd given up.

All he could do was cry to vent her bitterness, then wait for them to capture her and take her back. Before long, she'd return to those endless, dark, hopeless days.

"Let her come closer," said Ye Zichen despite his hesitation. When Pu Jingwan heard that, she smiled, hugged him, then kissed him on the cheek.

Yang Jian reacted as well, but Pu Jingwan was a few steps faster. When he saw Pu Jingwan rush ahead, Yang Jian back. It was far better for Pu Jingwan to go to her.

"Don't cry. Come with me," said Pu Jingwan. She draped a cloak over the girl, then bent down and reached towards her. The girl's despairing sobs stopped, and she looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, and she seemed dazed.

Her life was endless suffering and darkness. To her, Pu Jingwan's hand was like the first ray of sunlight after an endless winter. It lit up her world.

Despite Pu Jingwan's usual vulgar arrogance, she was now as gentle as could be.

Sensing the girl's hesitation, Pu Jingwan smiled warmly and gently wiped away the girl's ears, then stretched out her hand. "Come on."

The girl burst into tears more, like floodwater breaking through a dike, bit her lip, nodded, and took Pu Jingwan's hand.

Pu Jingwan held the girl's hand, then arranged the cloak she'd covered the girl with so that it covered her more thoroughly. Next, she half carried the girl, step by step, up to Ye Zichen.

"This is our boss. He's the one who decided to save you, so if you want to thank someone, you ought to thank him." Pu Jingwan said, gesturing to Ye Zichen.

"Thank you." The girl bit her lip and nodded gratefully. Her deep gratitude was obvious from her gaze, but her lips were quivering so much she could barely speak. All she could manage was a single sentence and continuous bows.

From up close, her beauty was readily apparent. Ye Zichen couldn't stop looking at her eyes; he'd practically sunk into them.

The girl looked away in embarrassment, and Ye Zichen came to his senses. He realized he'd slipped up.

Still, he couldn't help but mutter inwardly… How could those eyes be so beautiful?

He'd only seen eyes like that once before, when he first met Little Lorie. At the time, she'd never left her valley and was as pure as unmarked paper. But this girl was different; he could tell she'd been through far, far too much.

She'd been through despair, and experienced hatred.

After all that, maintaining such a pure heart wasn't easy.

Eyes were windows to the soul.

For her eyes to be so pure meant her soul must be pure too.

Ye Zichen couldn't believe that someone with eyes like that was a double agent sent deliberately to his side, or that she was otherwise scheming against him.

That was why, even though she was a demon, Ye Zichen let her into their midst.

"See that?" Pu Jingwan took in the girl's red-faced shyness and whispered deviously in her ear, "Our boss seems to have taken a shine to you. Little girl, you're fortunate indeed! If you can't think of any other way to repay our boss's kindness, you can always repay him with your body!"

The girl's face reddened, all the way to her ears. However, she didn't seem bashful so much as nervous. She knit her fingers together and said, "I….I have someone I like."

"Ah? That's not good news! Boss, look! The girl already has someone she likes. It seems your love is unrequited. How about you take me instead?" Pu Jingwan said with a provocative, bewitching laugh.

"Pu Jingwan!" Ye Zichen glared at her. The girl instinctively shrunk back, then burrowed deeper into Pu Jingwan's embrace.

"Don't be afraid, and don't listen to Pu Jingwan's nonsense. I have no intentions of making you repay me with your body. I let you into our ranks because I felt sorry for you, and that's all there is to it."

Ye Zichen glanced at her and sighed deeply. "What's your name?"

She gnawed her lower lip and said softly, "An…. An Lu."