"What?" the man blurts, his eyes go wide in horror. He cannot believe what he heard just now. Zichen stares at him blankly, his left cheek resting on his fist supporting by the chair. "H-he is the Prince of Underworld?" the man tries to move but the pain in his back is so tremendous that even jerking results in him at great cost. He moves his hand to his hand, gently trailing behind, trying to encode what the guard has carved on him but he cannot reciprocate. "What did you write?" he cries, grinding his teeth together to control himself.

"Prince Fu" F4 answers, dabbing the needle more into his body, scaring the shit out of the pathetic big man. He has heard about the Prince of Underworld and Prince Fu.

Saying has it that the Prince of Underworld is the most powerful leader amongst all the other clans. The Prince is known by Prince Fu, at the age of 17 he was crowned as the Prince and since then he has been ruling the Underworld. Many tried to snatch the position but failed. He is fearsome, rebellious, ruthless, and gives no second chances. The lump in his throat suddenly feels too heavy to gulp. The Prince of Underworld is right in front of him, how can he breathe?

Zichen rises from the chair and steps closer towards him. The kidnapper looks down, daring not to face him and he can sense that his end is near and there is no escape. Bending down, he grabs his right hand as if inspecting something.

Sweat prickles from everywhere of the big man, his vision blurs as the sweat covers his eyelids.

"You touched her with this hand of yours, right?" Zichen asks, his jaw flexing as anger boils in his nerves.

The man yelps as the hold on his hand become too tight. He feels his bones cracking but Zichen didn't stop there. He continues gripping it more and more tightly, the cracking sound of his bones is audible. He then throws his hand in disgust and got up. The man falls on the car, crying and yelling as the pain in his back attacks like anything.

Zichen signals his men to come forward. "Cut off both his hands" he glares down at the man, showing not a single amount of pity. "And his tongue too" he adds, wiping the dirt in his hand from the handkerchief and shove it back into his pant pockets.

The man pleads to let him go but Zichen does not give him second chances.

"Please, I beg you! I beg you! I will tell the name I will tell the name. Just please leave me" he begs, crying his eyes out. "I will tell you his name…please don't do this!" he continues begging. He does not care about the man who ordered him, all he cares about is that he doesn't want to die even if he has to tell everything.

Zichen says nothing. He just stands there with a blank stare on his face.

"His name is…" he pauses to catch his breath as the pain is making him nauseous. "His name is Moyang!" He reveals the name of the mastermind in the hope that Zichen will set him free. The man looks up to see Zichen's face, expressionless with nothing but a death stare in his eyes. "I-I told his name….plase let me go now!" he begs again and again but this had no effect on Zichen.

"I don't give second chances. The moment you laid your hands on Shi Lian, your death was written" he bits out. Saying nothing more, he gestures the men to finish what he told so that they can leave as fast as they can. Turning on his shoes, he starts walking in the direction of the front door hearing the loud cries and beggings of the man but he didn't look back. He has been accustomed to this since he was 17, so the cries and requests are nothing to him.

A worry makes him frown at the thought that if Shi Lian knew he is some kind of mafia who kills people, somehow, what will she do? Will she still like him? Nobody knows except Rong about his identity. He is always cautious of his identity because he knew people will start judging him regarding the work he does. If Shi Lian starts hating him just because he kills people, he will be devasted.

He likes her more than anything and finding a girl for the first time that makes your heart go wild is rare. He decides to keep this hidden from Shi Lian because he does not want to take the risk and lose her forever.

**

It's been more than half an hour and Shi Lian's uneasiness keeps on growing. She keeps on asking Rong when Zichen will be back but he too has no idea.

She called her parents earlier and she knew they will be worried when she doesn't receive the call for the thirtieth time. She lied to them saying she was busy with a meeting and her phone's battery died. She cannot afford to tell her about the kidnapping, with a weak heart her father is not in a good health and her mother is too sensitive to handle such news.

Her ankle is paining more now than it was before making her unable to walk properly.

"He will be back by now" Rong muses viewing the warehouse. Shi Lian follows his eyes and then she sees something, a black shadow approaching towards them. more black shadows follow behind but Shi Lian cannot see their faces.

"Is it them?" she asks meekly, scrutinizing. Rong gives her a smile and nods. So he is safe and he is back. Shi Lian's heart pounds harder and harder as the man comes into view.

There he is, Zichen in his black coat striding towards them. her eyes water again knowing that he is safe and no harm has been done. Her eyes lock with him as he approaches and her chin trembles as more tears come out from her eyes. she never thought she will be this scared and worried over a man. This feeling she experiences is the same she did for Atian back then he was in a coma. The seven or eight other men, all in black suit head over to another car which is parked behind their car.

"Hey," he says, standing in front of her. she throws her arms around his neck and hugs him tightly, sobbing in his embrace. She doesn't care if they are being seen, right now she does not want to care about people's opinions. "Hshhh" he soothes her back gently, breathing in her hair.

"I-I am sorry" she blurts between her sobs. "I am sorry for dragging you into this….I…If something were to happen to you… I will never forgive myself" she expresses, tightening his hold onto his waist securely as if he will run away from her.

Zichen sighs. Before saying this to her, he signals the others who are present there to give them some space. The three go inside the car and wait for them to finish. He then turns his attention to her and gently says, "You never have to be sorry, Shi Lian. I will do anything for you even if you don't want me to" he gazes into her hazel-brown eyes which are now red and puffy due to crying. he cups her face and caresses her cheek which is red with his thumb and continues, "I like you with all my heart and I promised to protect you so don't say sorry, baby."

"I like you a lot, Zichen. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you but deep down I was praying for you to come and save me. I like you Zichen" she confesses and leans forward to kiss him on the corner of his mouth. He smiles warmly and kisses her back, so tenderly that it washes away all the worries she had inside hers.

"My arms are always here to hold you, always" he whispers in her lips and she smiles wider, tears pooling her eyes again. "Now stop crying" he whines, kissing her again. She laughs, circling her arms in his neck and exploring his mouth with her tongue. Nothing ever felt this safe and this good. She now knows that he is there for her, whenever she needs he is there and he has proven her. He made her feel safe, protected, and warm. He is the only one who makes her heart go crazy, the one who understands her.

"let's head home, your parents must be worried," he says, breaking the kiss and caressing her cheeks. She nods smiling brightly.

Zichen calls them out of the car. Shi Lian completely forgot that Gui is here and he must have seen everything. She looks at him and he smiles warmly. Her cheeks heat and embarrassment creeps into her. Giving her a peck on her check he goes to his car. She says good night to him and hops inside her car as well. Gui starts the car and the car moves at a normal speed as they leave the warehouse region.

She keeps on glancing at Gui but he says nothing and focuses on driving. "Gui….he is-"

But Gui cuts her off and speaks, "I know Miss. He seems to be a very good man and I am happy that you are happy with each other" he grins, and Shi Lian breaths out a sigh of relief. She smiles at him and is thankful for understanding. They go to the Mo mansion with a relief heart and serene mind.