After being chosen by the Ice Queen

A black sedan sped along a side road of the highway.

Inside the car, the white interior was covered in blood.

Blood was flowing from the man's body; he had been shot in the abdomen and was lying flat on the passenger seat.

The woman, her brow furrowed, gripped the steering wheel tightly, speeding through traffic at 80 miles per hour. Her own life hung in the balance, held by those hands. She forced herself to remain calm, glancing occasionally in the rearview mirror to see if anyone was chasing her.

The man groaned in pain, his body contorted in the chair, blood soaking through his shirt. Drops of blood fell onto the white plush carpet, turning into brown dots.

"You're not dead yet, Gu Yan?!"

"no."

Gu Yan answered through gritted teeth.

"You have a damn lot of blood." Chiba's pretty face involuntarily contorted with rage. "Hang in there, Gu Yan, you won't die. We'll be safe soon."

...

Three hours ago.

The once quiet alleyway was soon deserted, and before the two could even catch their breath, the roar of motor vehicles could be heard in the distance.

At least three vehicles and seven or eight cold-eyed assassins armed with long and short weapons blocked the only way out.

There was no negotiation, no warning. Gunfire instantly shattered the silence of dawn.

Chiba Rin and Gu Yan were pinned down behind trash cans and in corners of the alley. Bullets struck the walls and metal, sending up shards and sparks. Gu Yan, wielding a longsword, found it impossible to get close under such suppressive fire. Chiba Rin returned fire with her pistol, accurately taking down two gunmen who tried to flank her, but the enemy's firepower was too intense, preventing her from raising her head.

"We have to get out of there!" A fierce glint flashed in Chiba Rin's eyes as she spotted a black sedan parked diagonally across the street, its engine seemingly still slightly warm. She quickly changed magazines and yelled at Gu Yan, "I'll count to three, provide covering fire, you steal the car!"

"One, two—"

"three!"

Chiba Rin suddenly leaned forward, firing both guns simultaneously, briefly suppressing the firepower from the front. Gu Yan, enduring the old injury on his left shoulder and the churning of his internal energy, increased his speed to the limit, rushing towards the car like an arrow released from a bow! His enhanced physique gave him astonishing explosive power, and he crossed the death zone in just a few steps.

The moment he opened the car door, a sniper from the flank, who had been holding back, pulled the trigger! The bullet wasn't aimed at Gu Yan's head—that would be too difficult to hit while he was moving—but rather it anticipated his movement and struck his torso as he bent down to enter the car.

Gu Yan's sense of danger sounded a sharp alarm the moment the bullet left the barrel, but he had exhausted his old strength and had not yet generated new strength, so he only had time to twist his body as much as possible.

The bullet entered his left abdomen, piercing through with a searing pain and a tearing sensation. Gu Yan groaned, the immense impact slamming him against the car door. His vision went black, and blood gushed out instantly.

Chiba Rin's eyes were bloodshot. She fired repeatedly, killing the sniper and other sources of fire, clearing a brief bloody path. She staggered to the car, shoved the almost unconscious Gu Yan into the passenger seat, jumped into the driver's seat herself, and slammed on the gas.

The car screeched to a halt, smashed through a trash can blocking its path, and sped wildly out of the alley. Behind it, the gunshots were quickly forgotten, but the pursuit continued.

……

The mountain road was rugged, and Chiba Rin pushed the sedan to its limits, shaking off most of the pursuers, but two of the most stubborn vehicles remained close behind. Relying on her memory and intuition for the terrain, she drove onto this small road leading deep into the mountains. The pursuing vehicles behind her seemed unfamiliar with the area and gradually fell behind.

Finally, the mountain road came to an end. The small tavern with its crooked sign came into view.

The black car came to a wobbly stop in the open space in front of the tavern. Chiba Rin stumbled out of the car, opened the passenger door, dragged out Gu Yan, who was covered in blood, half-supporting and half-carrying him, and used his shoulder to shove open the wooden door.

The two stumbled heavily into the tavern. Qianye Rin laid Gu Yan's body down against a pillar; his pale face was bloodless, and blood was still gushing from the wound in his abdomen. Qianye Rin herself had reached her limit; the poison and blood loss made her vision blur, her legs gave way, and she nearly collapsed to the ground. She could only grip the edge of the bar counter tightly, her nails almost digging into the wood.

Behind the bar, Daodaosai, whose head was wrapped in a white towel and who was wiping wine glasses, slowly raised his head. His cloudy old eyes swept over the two blood-soaked figures without even twitching his brow.

Chiba Rin gasped for breath, using all her strength to lift her face and look at Totosai. Her hoarse voice was filled with determination: "Totosai... old man... we are being hunted by Kito Gou's men... he killed my father... and took the Hikari Crow. I beg you... to remember any past favors you had with the Chiba family... to take us in... and let us hide here for now..."

She had to stop and catch her breath after saying just a few words; the bandage under her ribs was completely stained red with blood.

Daodaosai put down his wine cup, slowly walked to the two of them, squatted down, first looked at Gu Yan's gunshot wound in the abdomen, then glanced at Chiba Rin's ribs and pale face. "Kitou Gou's Blood-Corroding Bullet... and Hidden Thistle's poison. Hmph, that wretch has learned these despicable methods perfectly."

He stood up, walked to the back of the tavern, and dragged out an old medical kit. "The back room, take care of it yourself. You won't die." His tone remained calm, but his movements were swift as he took out clean gauze, hemostatic powder, and some oddly colored ointments and pills.

"The boy is badly injured, stop the bleeding first. This powder can temporarily seal the effects of the Blood-Corroding Bullet. Girl, chew this antidote pill and swallow it, it will suppress Yin Ji for twelve hours."

Chiba Rin took the medicine and, without hesitation, immediately did as instructed. The bitter, fishy-smelling pills made her want to vomit, but she forced them down. Then, together with Totosai, they used almost rough methods to clean Gu Yan's wounds, apply medicine, and bandage him. The intense pain caused Gu Yan's body to convulse while he was unconscious, but the bleeding was finally brought under control.

After doing all this, Chiba Rin was almost exhausted and slid down to the ground against the wall.

Dao Dao Zhai looked at her stubborn and disheveled appearance, then at Gu Yan, who was still unconscious with a furrowed brow and weak breath. The indifference in his eyes seemed to melt away slightly. He silently walked to the tavern door, listened to the sounds outside, and only after confirming that the pursuers were not approaching for the time being did he slowly walk back.

"Kito Gou..." Totosai murmured the name, his voice filled with complex emotions—disgust, hatred, and a deep sense of guilt. "I misjudged him back then, raising such a beast. He used his killing skills and cruel heart for the worst possible purposes. Chiba Souichirou is a man of principle, though a bit weak."

He looked at Chiba Rin: "You want revenge?"

"It's a fight to the death." Chiba Rin squeezed out the four words through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with tangible hatred.

"With you like this?" Daodaozhai sneered, but there was little sarcasm in his laughter; rather, it was a helpless acceptance. "Fine. Since that wretch is even capable of murdering his master, it seems my days of living a life of debauchery are coming to an end."

He turned and walked to the back of the tavern, pushing open a hidden door. Inside, countless famous swords lay covered in dust. A moment later, he emerged carrying two sheathed swords.

One was a standard katana, with a jet-black scabbard and no decoration, yet it exuded a calm killing intent. The other was somewhat special, with a narrower blade and a smoother curve, somewhere between a katana and a ninja sword, like a specially modified narrow sword.

Daodaosai handed the katana to Chiba Rin: "Kuroyu, this is something I casually forged in my younger days. It's not a famous weapon, but it's fast and hard enough. It doesn't rust easily even when it's stained with blood. It's better than the mass-produced ones you used before."

He picked up the narrow dagger again, drawing it a foot from its sheath, its cold light gleaming. "This blade is thin as a cicada's web. The original owner was a man who valued stealth assassination, requiring the blade to be light, thin, and sharp. I sharpened it for a long time. Later, that man died, and the blade remained here."

He walked to Gu Yan's side and placed the sheathed sword beside him. "This kid's swordsmanship has a unique penetrating power. This sword is thin and sharp, perfect for bringing out that power. Although it's a sword spirit, it still looks somewhat like a sword. Let him use it for now; it's better than his old junk."

Chiba Rin took the Kuroyu, her fingers tracing the cold scabbard, feeling the power it had undergone countless forgings. She nodded solemnly to Totosai: "Thank you."

Daodaozhai waved his hand, looking at the unconscious Gu Yan with a deep gaze: "Let's talk about it after he wakes up. Guitouhao won't let this go easily, and this place isn't absolutely safe. You need better swords, and you need to recover as soon as possible."

He paused, as if making a decision: "If you can get through this and find some truly good materials, I might make an exception and restart the furnace for you."

After saying that, he said no more, turned around and went back behind the bar, as if nothing had happened.

Chiba Rin held Kuroyu in her arms, leaning against the wall, feeling the warmth from the antidote pills, though the pain in her wounds remained sharp. She glanced at the unconscious Gu Yan, a flicker of emotion passing through her eyes.