"Ah?"
Wan Lei looked at Fang Xiaoyu in disbelief.
"Yeah, when I first saw Qi Manyao, I thought she had been resurrected, so I was naturally happy. Then when I saw you two kissing, I felt a moment of anger, but then I immediately realized something was wrong.
I felt like this must be an illusion. After all, with your personalities, how could you possibly kiss in front of me? So my expression was a bit strange. I figured if you two were going to do something like that, you'd definitely do it behind my back."
"Heaven and earth as my witness, absolutely not, pah, absolutely never."
"Tsk, you never know what someone is thinking. After the illusion was broken, I saw that it was indeed fake, and she hadn't been resurrected, so I was a bit disappointed."
"Oh, I see."
Wan Lei nodded, finally understanding Fang Xiaoyu's strange expression. Then, he suddenly remembered something.
"That illusion wasn't a real illusion, but rather it used heart fire to stir up the most fearful things in the tester's heart, making them mistakenly believe it was real.
So, your deepest fear has always been Qi Manyao taking me away? Why are you so insecure? We've been together for over a decade, and I've never done anything to betray you. Yet, you've been worrying about these things."
Hearing this, Fang Xiaoyu blushed greatly and stammered,
"Well... matters of the heart are illogical. Besides, which woman doesn't worry about her love rival? We owe her a life, and I want her to be resurrected, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried about you being taken away by her."
"You're still saying that, you don't trust me."
Wan Lei glared, his body trembling, his kingly aura exploding.
"I..."
Suddenly, Fang Xiaoyu glared back,
"You also said it was the most fearful thing. So, your deepest fear isn't me dying, but me being defiled? Heh, it seems like in your eyes, my purity is more important than my life.
Heh, men, pah, disgusting, vulgar."
Upon hearing this, Wan Lei's imposing aura immediately dissipated. He turned his head away, feeling guilty.
"Uh... let's just let this go. Don't bring it up again."
"Mhm, mhm, it's passed, it's passed. It never happened."
Fang Xiaoyu also turned her head away guiltily.
An awkward atmosphere, for the first time, appeared between the two of them.
Fortunately, at this moment, Wan Lei's spiritual communication talisman rang, successfully dispelling the awkwardness.
"Hello, Brother Qi? You want to treat me to drinks tonight? Okay, no problem. We'll wait for you after work. Xiaoyu and I will definitely be there. Yes, yes, bye."
"Qi Heng wants to treat me to drinks tonight. Let's go together."
Wan Lei looked at Fang Xiaoyu.
"Mhm, okay. It's a good time to thank him for his care these past six months."
The atmosphere between them was still a bit awkward, even to the point of politeness.
Wan Lei disliked this feeling; he preferred the unrestrained feeling when he was with Fang Xiaoyu.
So, he stood up, scooped Fang Xiaoyu into his arms, and walked towards the house.
Amidst the girl's startled, blushing cries, the protective formation of the courtyard slowly rose.
Around nine o'clock that night, Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu went out. Qi Heng and the others had already booked a large private room, and ten people were waiting for them.
As soon as the two entered, they were warmly welcomed by everyone. Qi Heng enthusiastically led them inside and sat them next to him.
They chatted and laughed, reminiscing about how just two days ago, one of them was a prisoner and the other a guard, and now, in the blink of an eye, they had become the most dazzling figures in the entire Five Elements Hall.
When Wan Lei asked about the current state of the prison system, everyone suddenly fell silent.
Qi Heng patted Wan Lei's shoulder and chuckled,
"Brother, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
"The good news first."
"Mm, the good news is that the Sector Chief received a major demerit. The tasks assigned by the higher-ups were not completed, and your successful jailbreak this time shows there are still significant loopholes in the prison system. The higher-ups have ordered the Sector Chief to improve it quickly and to conduct more rigorous reviews for the appointment of guards.
You should have seen the Sector Chief these past two days; his face was so gloomy it could squeeze out water. None of us dared to breathe heavily. But thinking about our usual Sector Chief being scolded by the Warden, we couldn't help but laugh."
"Hahahaha, I've really caused the Sector Chief a lot of trouble this time! What's the bad news?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's mood turned somber.
"Brother, you need to be mentally prepared. The bad news is that because the Sector Chief was so angry this time, he fired you in a fit of rage."
"Fired... fired me?"
Wan Lei was dumbfounded. Then he remembered that he was still working in the prison and hadn't gone in all day, so he was considered absent without leave.
However... who would dare to let someone who successfully broke out of jail return to work at the prison? What if you stole from the inside again?
"These are clearly two pieces of good news."
"Hey, look at him, he doesn't even plan to continue working with us."
"After all the good times we've had."
"Our relationship has faded."
Everyone joked around for a while longer, but everyone knew that Wan Lei was the most powerful disciple. His appointment to the prison was solely to rescue Fang Xiaoyu. Now that his goal was achieved, how could this great dragon remain in such shallow waters?
"Right, speaking of which, I haven't thanked you yet, Brother Qi, for your help. If you hadn't helped this time, I'm afraid Fang Xiaoyu and I would have failed to escape the prison."
"Ah, you were just too caught up in the moment and unfamiliar with the terrain, leading to rigid thinking. You thought the only way out was the main entrance. I just gave you a reminder. If you hadn't had the ability, you still wouldn't have gotten out."
"Exactly, why thank him? His mission was to help you break out of prison."
"That's right. The Immortal Venerable gave different tasks to many people, the task of jailbreaking to you, the task of capturing to the Enforcement Hall and the Sector Chief, and the task of assistance to Qi Heng."
After a moment of shock, Wan Lei quickly recovered and said with a smile,
"Oh, if it's a mission, then forget the fifty million spirit stones."
"You scoundrel, don't even think about it!"
"You've already received meritorious points as a reward, why do you still want my money?"
"Take the meritorious points and leave the money for me. My principles can't change unless you pay for this meal."
"Hahahaha..."
In the end, after everyone parted ways, Wan Lei still gave Qi Heng fifty million. After all, without Qi Heng's help, he and Fang Xiaoyu might have failed by now. Who knew what kind of punishment the Immortal Venerable would have imposed for mission failure?
Back home, Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu slept soundly again. Waking up in the morning, they felt refreshed and energetic.
Just as they thought they were about to fall into a life of comfort and happiness, both of their spiritual communication talismans received a mission.
"Five Elements Hall New Disciple Fang Xiaoyu's First Mission - Rescue the Immortal Venerable's Son."