Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

Cold rainwater, mixed with warm liquid, dripped from Ling Wuwen's chin, spreading into dark red flowers on the waterlogged cement ground.

The "ship repairman" lay at his feet, the slight rise and fall of his chest proving he was still alive, but blood was bubbling from the small but deep wound on his throat that exposed bone.

His eyes were filled with disbelief and the fear of impending death as he stared intently at the man standing in the rain, toying with a tactical pen in his hand.

Ling Wuwen.

The man who was just talking to his partner about "skating for myself".

The man who kissed Gu Xidong, and then stabbed him in the heart.

At this moment, the expression on his face was colder than the stormy night.

Those peach blossom eyes were devoid of any affection, leaving only a kind of almost beastly vigilance and...killing intent.

If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, and if the tactical pen he carried with him hadn't been hard and sharp enough, he and Gu Xidong would be lying here right now.

"Cough...cough cough..."

A violent cough broke the deathly silence of the rainy night.

Gu Xidong clutched his left shoulder and staggered out from behind a concrete pillar.

His clothes were ripped open at the shoulder, and blood was seeping out, staining half of his body red. He had been cut by a machete wielded by the other man while he was trying to steal the car.

The pain made his already pale face even more bloodless.

He looked at the dying attacker on the ground, then at Ling Wuwen not far away, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Shock, anger, hurt, confusion... all sorts of emotions intertwined, ultimately turning into a bottomless, icy pool.

"Let's go." Ling Wuwen put away his tactical pen, didn't even glance at the injured man on the ground, walked straight to Gu Xidong, and grabbed his wrist.

"We can't stay here any longer; his accomplices will soon notice something's wrong."

His hands were cold yet powerful, carrying an irresistible force.

Gu Xidong did not move.

He stood there, letting the rain wash over his face, his gaze fixed intently on Ling Wuwen: "This is your 'plan'? To use me as a 'knife'? And then, to make me watch you kill someone?"

His voice was hoarse, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

That wasn't an inquiry, but a questioning, an accusation.

Ling Wuwen paused.

He raised his eyes, and those cold eyes shone frighteningly brightly in the rainy night.

"If I don't act, we'll be the ones who die." His tone was as calm as if stating a fact unrelated to himself.

"Gu Xidong, do you think we're filming a movie? Here, it's either you or me. Your elegance and rules on the ice are worthless here."

He took a step closer, his icy breath hitting Gu Xidong's face:

"What? Are you overflowing with maternal instinct? Or do you think I've tainted your 'pure' champion's heart?"

"You!" Gu Xidong laughed in anger, which aggravated the wound on his shoulder, causing him to gasp in pain.

"I don't have time to explain to you." Ling Wuwen stopped looking at him, turned around and dragged him towards the stolen, muddy bread cart.

"Get in the car. Raven's evacuation point has been exposed; we must leave immediately."

"How do you know the evacuation point has been exposed?" Gu Xidong was being half-dragged and half-pulled along, his voice full of sarcasm.

"Did you know there would be an ambush all along? Was this all part of your plan?!"

Ling Wuwen abruptly stopped.

He turned around and, for the first time, looked at Gu Xidong with a completely unfamiliar gaze.

The pretense and warmth of the past were gone from those eyes; only pure, undisguised contempt remained.

"Gu Xidong, do you think you're so smart?" He sneered, raindrops sliding down his deep jawline. "Who do you think you are? A god of vengeance? Or a savior?"

He reached out and gently tapped Gu Xidong's chest with his blood-stained fingertips, his voice low but carrying a chilling undertone:

"You'd better understand, right now, you're just a crippled dog with a broken leg. I can make you stand up again, and I can make you fall to your death again. Don't judge me by your own moral standards. You don't deserve it."

After saying that, he stopped talking nonsense, opened the car door, roughly pushed Gu Xidong into the passenger seat, and then got into the driver's seat and started the engine.

The car roared, splashing up a huge spray of water, and plunged into the vast rainy night.

The atmosphere inside the carriage was oppressively suffocating.

The only sounds were the monotonous "swish, swish" of the windshield wipers and the heavy breathing of the two people.

Gu Xidong leaned back in his chair, his face as pale as paper.

He didn't look at Ling Wuwen in the driver's seat, but stared intently at the blurry street scene rushing past the window.

The wound on my left shoulder was burning painful, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.

Ling Wuwen's words were like poisoned daggers, piercing his pride and his fantasies, leaving them riddled with holes.

2

Useless dog...

He actually called him a useless dog.

Yes, if it weren't for Ling Wuwen, he would probably still be in that cold warehouse, dreaming of returning to his peak while surrounded by a pile of scrap metal.

He thought he was saving Ling Wuwen, but little did he know that he was the one being manipulated like a clown.

"Cough..." Another violent coughing fit followed, the taste of blood filling the mouth.

Ling Wuwen glanced at him, his eyes still cold, but he still grabbed a dirty jacket from the back seat and threw it at him.

"Put it on. Don't die."

The tone was stiff, but it still carried a hint of human warmth.

Gu Xidong didn't move, letting the musty and oily jacket cover him. His gaze fell on Ling Wuwen's hand, which was resting beside the gearshift.

That hand had just used a tactical pen to almost slit a person's throat.

At this moment, however, it was trembling slightly.

It wasn't because of fear, nor because of lingering fear.

Or was it because of...excitement?

Gu Xidong's pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw Ling Wuwen's profile. In the dim light of the car headlights, the corners of his mouth seemed... to be slightly upturned. It wasn't a smile, but rather... the excitement and satisfaction of a hunter seeing his prey.

This discovery sent a chill down Gu Xidong's spine.

He suddenly realized that he had never truly understood the person next to him.

Whether it's Ling Wuwen or Ling Wuwen, the soul residing in this body was never the boy he thought he was, the one whose eyes would light up for pairs skating.

This is a... monster.

A dangerous monster twisted by hatred.

"Turn right at the next intersection," Gu Xidong suddenly said, his voice hoarse.

Ling Wuwen glanced at him, said nothing, but eased off the accelerator a little.

"Didn't you want revenge?" Gu Xidong turned his head, meeting Ling Wuwen's gaze for the first time. His eyes held no anger or confusion, only an almost manic calm.

"Since I am your knife, you should sharpen me even more."

He forced a smile, a smile more painful than a grimace: "If this knife can't even protect the person wielding it, what right does it have to strike the enemy?"

Ling Wuwen's pupils contracted slightly.

He looked at Gu Xidong, at the resolute madness in his eyes that was so different from before.

"What do you mean?" His voice unconsciously turned somber.

"What I mean is," Gu Xidong slowly sat up straight, though the movement aggravated his wounds and made him wince in pain, the light in his eyes was surprisingly bright.

"Since there's no turning back, then we'll... go for something big."

He pointed to an alleyway not far ahead, where eerie neon lights flickered; it was the entrance to the city's most chaotic black market.

"Go there."

"Are you crazy?" Ling Wuwen frowned. "That's 'Black Swan's' territory; they have spies everywhere. Going in like this is like walking into a trap!"

"Walking into a trap?" Gu Xidong laughed, a laugh that was both pathetic and tragic. "No, I'm going to... retrieve what's mine."

He raised his hand and pointed to his left leg, the place that had once borne all his glory and brought him all his destruction.

"When I retired, I gave my skates to a 'special advisor' at the club. As far as I know, that advisor really enjoyed going to that black market's underground auction house to find some 'interesting' stuff."

He looked at Ling Wuwen and said, word by word:

"Those skates were my peak performance shoes. The size, center of gravity, and stiffness were a perfect fit for my feet. My current training shoes can never replace them."

He paused, his eyes becoming incredibly sharp:

"I want to get my skates back. Then, with them, I'll skate the most perfect pairs skate in the world, and with them, I'll personally... send those who pushed us to the brink to hell."

"You..." Ling Wuwen looked at him, his eyes showing genuine emotion for the first time.

He thought Gu Xidong would break down, rebel, and become hysterical.

He hadn't expected that Gu Xidong's choice would be... integration.

It's about turning yourself into a... bloodstained knife.

"Are you sure?" Ling Wuwen's voice was low and hoarse.

"Once you go in, there's no turning back. The people there are more dangerous and more insane than the 'ship repairmen' we just met."

"A way back?" Gu Xidong laughed self-deprecatingly. "From the day you 'picked' me up from that warehouse, there was no way back for me."

He turned his head, looking out the window at the alleyway that gleamed with the light of sin, his eyes burning with a near-destructive flame:

"Rather than be used as a pawn, let's... become the sharpest weapon. Ling Wuwen, don't you want revenge? Then let me see just how far we two madmen can go!"

Ling Wuwen fell silent.

He looked at Gu Xidong for a very long time.

Inside the carriage, only heavy breathing could be heard.

After a long while, he suddenly smiled.

It wasn't a sneer, nor a mockery, but a... genuine, heartfelt laugh, tinged with a hint of appreciation and a touch of fervor.

"it is good."

He slammed on the gas pedal, and the car roared like a wild beast as it sped toward that sinful alleyway.

"Since you're courting death..."

The car rushed into the alley and was instantly swallowed by darkness.

"Then I'll go crazy with you this once."

3

The car stopped in the narrow, dirty alley.

Ling Wuwen turned off the engine, took out a modified Glock pistol from under his seat and tucked it into his back waistband, then took out a tactical dagger from the glove box and slid it into his sleeve.

The movements were fluid and skillful, almost frighteningly so.

Looking at his calm and cruel profile, Gu Xidong couldn't help but ask the question that had been lingering in her mind for so long: "Who exactly are you? Ling Wuwen... or Ling Wufeng?"

Ling Wuwen paused, but didn't turn around. He just whispered, "After we go in, stay close to me, don't speak, and don't be surprised by anything you see."

He turned his head, a hint of pity in his peach blossom eyes, "Don't be scared to tears."

He pushed open the car door and stepped into the darkness.

The alleyway was filled with the smells of cheap perfume, tobacco, and a sweet, metallic rust.

At the end was a rusty iron gate, guarded by two burly men with black swan tattoos.

Ling Wuwen stepped forward and drew a twisted symbol on his chest with his left hand, resembling both a swan and a question mark.

After the retinal scan, an electronic voice announced: "Codename: Raven. Privilege: Level 2."

The iron gate opened.

The scene inside made Gu Xidong hold his breath instantly—in the vast underground space, colorful lights danced, music blared, and crowds danced wildly. But even more horrifying was the iron-railed exhibition area beside the dance floor:

One place displays naked men and women crawling in painted clothes for people to bid on; another displays blood-dripping severed fingers, weapons, and even human heads preserved in formaldehyde.

This isn't a black market, it's hell.

Ling Wuwen remained unfazed and walked straight into the VIP area guarded by bodyguards.

Just then, a languid and alluring female voice came from behind: "Oh my, isn't this the Ice Prince Gu Xidong? It's been years, and you've fallen on hard times?"

Gu Xidong froze, then slowly turned around.

A woman in a black lace dress leaned against a middle-aged man, a black swan with outstretched wings tattooed below her collarbone.

She held the red wine, her eyes filled with disdain, as if looking at an ant.

That face—was that of his former pairs skating partner, whom he had defeated years ago and subsequently imprisoned for involvement in organized crime.

"Su Man?!" Gu Xidong exclaimed in disbelief.

Su Man chuckled, her red fingernails tracing his cheek. "I heard you're looking for your 'battle boots'?" she whispered in his ear.

"What a coincidence, those shoes... are in my boss's collection room."

She straightened up, her smile alluring: "The boss said, if you want your shoes back, you'll have to trade yourself. Trade your once noble swan... for a pair of cold shoes."

"So, are you in or not, going to do this deal?"