Lin Xiao looked terrifying in that moment—yet no one could stop him. He had already prepared for the worst. If something truly happened to Ling Xi, he wouldn’t let a single person here walk away unharmed.
Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Lin Xiao gathered Ling Xi into his arms and rushed into the house—only to run straight into Zhang Nu, who was just coming out.
When Zhang Nu saw the little fox in Lin Xiao’s arms, his expression changed drastically.
“What’s going on? Lin Xiao, that fox in your arms…”
Lin Xiao frowned, glaring at him. “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize her? Have you forgotten that Ling Xi’s original form is a fox?”
Zhang Nu’s eyes widened. That fox was Ling Xi? How could that be? She had only gone to speak with Madam Fu—how did she end up like this?
“What happened? That’s impossible. Why would Ling Xi suddenly revert to her original form?”
Lin Xiao shot him a resentful look. If it hadn’t been for them insisting that Ling Xi go question Madam Fu, she wouldn’t be like this now. Even though he hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, he could already guess what had happened.
And truthfully, part of the blame lay with him too—for not stopping it.
“If you all hadn’t pushed Ling Xi to question Madam Fu, would she be in this state now?”
Zhang Nu’s face turned grave. If Madam Fu had seen Ling Xi’s true form... then things were about to get complicated.
“No. You can’t stay here. If this really involves Madam Fu, then she’s probably already gone to report it. It won’t be long before someone comes looking for Ling Xi.”
Lin Xiao’s eyes turned murderous.
“Let them come. If she dared to hurt Ling Xi... then I won’t let her off.”
Zhang Nu could see how much Ling Xi meant to Lin Xiao. But that didn’t mean he could go around hurting people on a whim.
“Lin Xiao, can you calm down a little? I know you want to avenge Ling Xi—but we haven’t gotten to the bottom of this yet.”
“Have you even thought about what Ling Xi would want? What if she doesn’t want to harm Madam Fu? If you keep making decisions for her like this, you’ll only push her further away.”
Lin Xiao froze. He turned to look at Zhang Nu with a confused expression.
Why would Ling Xi be upset with him? Everything he did—he did for her.
“Why are you saying that? Why would she be upset with me? She has no reason to be upset with me. I’ve been nothing but good to her!”
Zhang Nu could tell how much Lin Xiao cared. Otherwise, he wouldn’t react this strongly just at the idea of Ling Xi resenting him.
But Zhang Nu was only speaking the truth—and maybe, that truth was already beginning to play out.
“Lin Xiao, I’m not trying to deceive you. Ling Xi may seem cheerful and sweet, but she has her own beliefs.”
“Maybe it really was Madam Fu who forced her to reveal her true form. But how she wants to deal with that… we don’t know. We have to wait for her to wake up and decide for herself.”
“The only thing we can do now is help her recover as quickly as possible.”
Lin Xiao fell silent.
Finally, he nodded with a bitter expression. If that was the case, he would just have to do what Zhang Nu said.
“Understood. I’ll take Ling Xi away for now, let her lie low for a bit. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Zhang Nu nodded, watching Lin Xiao’s silhouette as he carried Ling Xi away. Right now, Zhang Nu had a feeling that everything was about to get a whole lot messier.
Ling Xi was their comrade. No matter what, they would never abandon her. But if Madam Fu and her husband kept targeting Ling Xi, there wasn’t much they could do to stop it.
He could only hope that, when the time came, the two would be reasonable enough not to drag Ling Xi down with them.
With that, Zhang Nu immediately went to find Liu Hai and Zhao Yang. They needed to be told everything—before word got out. This matter absolutely could not be leaked.
Just as Zhang Nu finished explaining it to them, a loud knock suddenly came at the door.
All three of them tensed immediately. They all knew exactly who it was—servants from Madam Fu and her husband. But what they didn’t know was… how the couple planned to question them this time.
“I meant what I said just now. Don’t forget a single word.”