Shocking! The actress was dragged to the regent's bedchamber every night.

Su Wuli suddenly looked up, staring in horror at the thin frosted glass door.

The figure outside the door seemed to be pressed against the door, its outline blurred.

"But I don't want to scare you."

The voice changed again, returning to that affectedly considerate tone.

"I really like you, so please open the door and let's talk, just for a little while..."

Su Wuli bit her lower lip hard.

She could not speak, she could not respond.

Any slight movement could provoke the madman outside the door, who knows what he might do next.

However, the next second, a sound came from the door.

He was trying to pick the lock on the bathroom door.

"ah--"

Su Wuli finally couldn't help but scream out in surprise, and scrambled backward as if she had fallen.

"Tsk." A voice came from outside the door, a mixture of annoyance at being disturbed and strange excitement. "Scared? Don't be afraid..."

The sound of picking the lock suddenly stopped.

But Su Wuli's fear reached its peak.

She knew perfectly well that the door wouldn't hold her off for much longer.

She was trapped in the bathroom, which had no exit and no weapons.

Despair overwhelmed them.

However, then, strangely, there was no sound outside the door, not even the sound of picking the lock.

Then, Su Wuli seemed to hear a soft "click".

It sounded like... a room door closing?

have they gone?

Su Wuli wasn't sure, and continued to stare at the door.

It was dark outside the door, and there was no movement of any shadows.

Maybe he really is gone?

Was she scared away by her scream?

Or did you find the door too difficult to pry open and give up?

Reason told her she should wait until dawn.

However, after extreme fear and tension, a wave of exhaustion, almost to the point of collapse, washed over both body and mind.

My eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and my consciousness continued to sink.

She tried desperately to stay awake, digging her nails into her palms to stimulate herself with pain.

can not sleep.

I can't sleep...

Exhaustion that has drained all strength can weave a web.

At some point, her head lolled to the side and she lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes again, all I could see was the bathroom.

Su Wuli blinked blankly.

My mind went blank, with only lingering fear weighing on my heart.

Is she still in the bathroom?

Its daybreak?

That person...

She instinctively shrank back and hugged herself tightly.

Just then, a shadow fell without warning.

Su Wuli's heart sank, and she suddenly looked up.

Unexpectedly, she saw Yu Chen standing in front of her, his face still pale from illness.

The man was frowning and looking down at her.

It was a dream.

This realization suddenly shattered her tense nerves.

All the fear, helplessness, and despair collapsed the moment safety was confirmed.

Before she could even think, her body reacted before her consciousness could.

Su Wuli lunged forward, gripping Yu Chen's clothes tightly with both hands, and buried her face in his chest.

"Waaah... I'm so scared... I'm so scared..."

The tears that had been held back all night finally burst forth.

She was trembling violently, and her tears quickly soaked the fabric of his shirt.

The man's body visibly stiffened.

He looked down at the person in his arms who was trembling and crying uncontrollably.

Her hair was disheveled, she was only wearing a thin nightgown, and she was barefoot.

He looked utterly terrified and pathetic.

Just then, a loud, forceful banging on the door suddenly rang out.

Immediately following was a man's indistinct cursing and foul language.

Mixed with lewd fantasies and threats about the name "Su Wuli," the message clearly came in.

That voice... is exactly the same as that perverted fan in real life.

Su Wuli's crying stopped abruptly, and she seemed to freeze instantly, even her trembling ceased.

All that remained was an uncontrollable stiffness; her fingers tightened around the man's clothes.

Yu Chen shifted his gaze from her to the door.

He narrowed his eyes, a cold, fierce glint flashing in them.

"An enemy?"

Su Wuli shook her head desperately in his arms, squeezing out broken syllables.

"No...it's a perverted fan...he's following me...he's outside right now...I don't know how I fell asleep...I'm so scared..."

She didn't know if Yu Chen could understand what "fans" meant.

Yu Chen didn't ask any more questions.

He then grabbed her chin with considerable force, forcing her to lift her tear-streaked face.

His fingertips, calloused, scraped across her tear-stained skin.

"Listen carefully." His voice was cold and resolute. "If he breaks through the door, attack him from all three sides in close combat, gouge out his eyes, and lock his throat."

Su Wuli stared at him blankly, tears still streaming down her face, not understanding a word he said.

What do you mean by "lower three paths"?

Yu Chen's fingers, which were pinching her chin, paused slightly.

Su Wuli's face was covered in tear stains, her eyes were red and swollen, and the tip of her nose was also red.

Looking up at him, her eyes were broken and bewildered.

He looked even more vulnerable than when he was injured and had a fever.

Yu Chen stared at her silently for a few seconds, then released his grip on her chin and moved his fingers to the back of her head.

He placed his palm on her, with a soothing tone.

His other arm wrapped around her, pulling her even tighter into his embrace.

Hold me tight.

"Why are you crying?" he said in a low voice, but the cold, commanding tone from before was gone.

His voice, lowered and somewhat hoarse, mingled with the vibrations of his chest, landing on the top of her head.

"The person hasn't come in yet."

That's a very direct, even tactless, statement.

But when it reached her ear, it strangely pried open a crack.

Su Wuli's tears flowed even more fiercely in an instant.

She buried her face deeper into his chest, her nose filled with his scent.

Her fingers unconsciously gripped the fabric at his waist, as if it were her only remaining sense of security.

The hand covering the back of her head gently stroked her messy hair.

The movements were far from gentle, but the warmth of his palm acted as a silent barrier, protecting her.

Su Wuli's trembling gradually subsided, leaving only intermittent sobs.

Yu Chen seemed to notice that her emotions had calmed down a bit. He looked down and saw that there were still tears on her eyelashes and her nose was pressed against his chest.

After an unknown amount of time, Su Wuli felt the hand behind her head move away.

Her chin was pinched again, but with less force than before, causing her to lift her head.

Su Wuli stared blankly at the man's face, which was so close to hers, with her red, swollen, and wet eyes.

Through my tear-washed vision, I could see that he had little expression, except for a slight furrow between his brows.

"Have you cried enough?" he asked in a low voice.

Su Wuli sniffed her stuffy nose, wanting to nod, yet also wanting to shake her head.

In the end, she just blinked her sore eyes.

Yu Chen seemed not to need her answer, and wiped away the undried tear stains under her eyes with his fingertips.

"Listen carefully," he said again, his voice calm.

He said, word by word, "Conquer all three routes, gouge out eyes, and lock the throat."

This time, every word clearly reached Su Wuli's ears.

Yu Chen didn't explain, but instead grabbed one of her hands.

He guided her hand and pressed it against several points on her body.

The bones on the sides of the knees, groin, throat, and above the eye sockets.

"Here, use a knee strike or an elbow strike."

Yu Chen held her wrist, simulating the angle and trajectory of applying force.

His breath sprayed on her still sweaty and cold ears, hot and scorching.

"Here, bring your knuckles together and stab with all your might... Here, lock the tiger's mouth and twist it to the side and back."

The movements were crisp and clean, without any unnecessary frills.

"He's afraid of dying." His voice was low and close to his ear. "Let him die."