After the Director of the Security Bureau left, the security personnel also withdrew one by one. The onlookers gradually dispersed.
The bustling entrance, which had been noisy just moments ago, was now left with only a handful of people.
Xuan Feng dismissed his subordinates and stood beside Bai Xi. "Eldest Miss, Xuan Feng has completed all the missions for the former punishments of the Dark Department. From today onwards, Xuan Feng will remain by your side to protect you and assist you in managing the Dark Department."
Bai Xi looked at Xuan Feng, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. A hint of a smile touched her previously cold face. "Congratulations. Since you have completed all your punitive missions, you are no longer bound. From today onwards, you are free, and you don't necessarily have to stay by my side."
Xuan Feng clasped his hands, his gaze firm. "Staying by Eldest Miss's side, protecting Eldest Miss, and assisting Eldest Miss in managing the Dark Department and completing its missions is Xuan Feng's sole and free will."
Bai Xi looked at Xuan Feng, silent for a moment. She raised her eyebrows slightly and smiled, "If this is what you desire, then so be it."
Among the four leaders of the Dark Department, Xuan Feng's identity was the most unique.
The other three were scions of influential families, and two of them even had parents who were members of the Dark Department. Therefore, they had been nurtured by their families from a young age.
Xuan Feng, on the other hand, was someone who had been pursued by the Dark Department.
In her first year in the Dark Department, the first Class A mission she took on was to apprehend Xuan Feng.
At that time, it was rumored that a wild man had appeared on Mount Damang, consuming humans, commanding wolves, being bloodthirsty, killing and eating people, and hanging corpses in the forest, which was extremely terrifying. It was hoped that the Dark Department would apprehend him.
And that so-called wild man was Xuan Feng. When she met Xuan Feng, he was eighteen years old, possessing immense strength but unable to utter a complete sentence. He wore no proper clothing, only animal skins and leaves to cover himself, resembling Tarzan.
He was agile, moving through the forest, but he had killed many people, which is precisely what alerted the Dark Department. At that time, the order she received was to enter the forest and hunt down the wild man. Because Xuan Feng knew the terrain of the mountains very well, and with the help of the wolves, the operation to capture him was very difficult.
One night, a member of the Dark Department came up with a plan to smoke out the wolves by setting fire to their den, intending to force him to surrender.
The wolves rushed out in a frenzy, fleeing in all directions. However, no one expected that Xuan Feng would not be in the den. Even so, upon seeing the fire, he charged into the wolf den, which was already engulfed in flames.
Everyone was bewildered as to why he would do such a thing. When he emerged, he was holding a three-year-old girl and a tattered cloth bundle.
After coming out, he collapsed to the ground, speaking in a broken human language, "Save, save, save, help, help, help..."
At that moment, she realized that this wild man, described by the villagers as wicked and bloodthirsty, might not be as the rumors suggested.
Using the items he brought out and the resources of the Dark Department, she investigated a horrifying case.
The people Xuan Feng had killed were his enemies, individuals whose actions could be described as utterly heinous.
Xuan Feng's family was originally well-off. His parents were scientists. Because there was a stream behind the village, and the stream water there was very clean, a group of six people, four men and two women, came to the area for research.
When the villagers saw them arrive, they welcomed them warmly.
However, after nightfall, the village chief's son set his sights on another young woman from the research team, forcibly violated her, and then strangled her to death. When his parents discovered this, they stepped forward to reason with the chief, and a conflict ensued, leading to a fight.
Seeing that the matter was escalating, the village chief, in order to protect his son, cast all the blame onto their visitors, claiming they had entered the village with malicious intent and were causing trouble.
The village chief incited the villagers, promising them the possessions of the research team if they could kill them. Thus, many people joined the pursuit.
His father, in order to protect his wife and son, was beaten by the village chief until he was covered in blood, but he did not retreat. In the end, he was struck on the head with the village chief's hoe, his blood and brains gushing from his nasal cavity, a gruesome sight.
His mother shielded him and fled into the forest, hiding him. She was then captured and eventually subjected to horrific abuse by those beasts, dying a tragic death.
He hid beneath the canopy of the trees, witnessing this scene unfold. Thus, he harbored intense hatred for those who had harmed his parents.
And those people he had hung up were the ones who had participated in the pursuit, those who had harmed his parents and their research team!
After she thoroughly investigated the matter, Xuan Feng, with his pitiable circumstances and powerful physique, served his sentence in the dungeons of the Dark Department for two years. Two years later, he joined the Dark Department, and due to his status as a criminal, he had to complete tasks even more difficult than others to be promoted.
In the Dark Department, Xuan Feng did not spend the longest time with her, nor was his talent the best, but he was the most hardworking and dedicated.
It was only today that his punishment was finally completed, and he gained his freedom.
Xuan Feng looked at Bai Xi's smile, his gaze softening. He lowered his head slightly, and as he did, he noticed the lime on Bai Xi's fingertips.
"Your hand..."
He hesitated for a second, then took out a clean silk cloth from his embrace. He gently pulled up Bai Xi's sleeve, intending to wipe the dust from her fingertips.
But at that moment, he suddenly sensed someone else approaching. He reflexively adopted a defensive posture, his sharp, eagle-like eyes fixing on the person behind Bai Xi.
And the person behind Bai Xi was none other than Han Mo.
Han Mo smiled and extended his hand to Xuan Feng. "Xi'er's hand should be wiped by me."
Having said that, he moved to take Bai Xi's arm from Xuan Feng's grasp.
Xuan Feng did not yield at all, his eyes fixed on Han Mo. "Who are you?"
Han Mo smiled. "I am Xi'er's... boyfriend."
Xuan Feng frowned slightly. "Boyfriend?"
His eyes held undisguised confusion.
Bai Xi understood that for someone like Xuan Feng, who had spent ten years in the forest with wolves and then entered the Dark Department, executing missions day and night, the concept of a boyfriend was naturally difficult to grasp. Thus, she patiently explained, "It means a partner. Like your father and mother, a man and a woman become partners."
Xuan Feng seemed to understand after hearing this. His sharp, eagle-like eyes fixed on Han Mo. "Eldest Miss, why choose him?"
This man looked incredibly fragile, as if he could be killed with a single punch.
Whether in the human world or the natural world, the primary criterion for a female choosing a mate was whether that man could provide her with protection. Whether it was through strong physical prowess or abundant financial resources, to build a suitable "home" for her, ensuring she and her offspring would not be exposed to the elements, nor be violated or harmed by other males.
Just as his father had desperately protected his mother. Although his mother eventually died a tragic death, his father had fought desperately. Therefore, women should choose strong men as partners.
Although Eldest Miss did not need protection, this man before her... seemed too fragile, didn't he? In terms of physical ability, perhaps any man in the Dark Department could surpass him.
On what grounds should such a man remain by Eldest Miss's side?