"I was just surprised."

Shao Cheng reasoned after seeing the confused and surprised expression on Ren Yuan's face after the strange reaction. Fortunately, the man was more focused on the reddened color on his left arm, quickly standing up and coming in front of him.

"What the hell is this?"

Shao Cheng lowered his gaze down, swiftly acting back to normal, and gazed upon the splash of reddish color on his open arm, which was the one he had used to block the black blood that came towards his direction.

Even with the ability of being able to quickly heal fast after the first transformation from the purple aura, the redness still continued to turn deeper, showing how strong and lethal it was even though it was only mere blood touching his skin.

"Third Brother you're injured!"

"Li! How are you feeling? Are you alright??"

Shao Cheng's lips couldn't help but twitch when Shao Cai hovered on his side with a worried expression before swiftly turning towards the extremely pale-faced Lin Renshu who was taking in harsh breaths.

Should I be happy that I came first in Little Cai's concerns before Lin Renshu who was also affected by the supposedly normal examination?

"Renshu! Explain what happened!"

The moment when Xixi and Cai arrive at Shao Cheng's side, Ren Yuan shot a dangerous look towards Lin Renshu, while at the same time, letting his hand hover on the darkening reddish skin of the young man who shook his head to not touch it.

"... I… cough… I'm also clueless… haa… this is the first time… a situation like this has happened…"

Lin Renshu tried to show a normal expression despite the unimaginable pain he felt on his supposedly paralyzed legs where he shouldn't be able to feel anything.

And yet, after the unusual reaction when the third young master of the Shao Family had examined his paralyze legs, the feeling was slowly coming back, especially more noticeable when the black blood flew out.

Although he was still unable to move his legs, there was a certain brightness in his usual calm eyes after perceiving the sudden change in them.

Even the torturous pain in Lin Renshu's legs couldn't stop the overwhelming happiness and hope that emerged in his heart.

… Can I still have the chance to live a long life…?

"Brother Yuan, calm down."

Don't go killing him now after the trouble and difficulty I just went through.

Shao Cheng uses his uninjured arm where the rope was still firmly tied to quickly grasp Ren Yuan's crimson long sleeves after taking note of the familiar violent atmosphere around him. At the same time, he asked the purple dragon an important question after seeing him coming down from the sky and returning to his usual size.

Purple, does Lin Renshu belong to the Chang Empire?

Red Aura…

It's definitely connected to one of the neighboring Empires. If the Lau Empire seemed to have a blue aura for the mysterious power, then the red one definitely belonged to a different Empire. And based on how difficult it was for Shao Cheng to deal with, whoever cast such lethal spells was definitely powerful.

Fortunately, whoever it was, a similar situation should have occurred to the caster of the red aura just as what happened to the High Priest in Lau Empire.

'Let me check… Well, this person was born and raised in the Chang Empire. Do you think he is a spy from a neighboring Empire Papa bug?'

Purple slowly floated towards an ignorant Ren Yuan's head before remaining still with his head down, which was completely unlike the purple dragon's usual active appearance.

Unlike the usual situation, one man and dragon had used more purple aura than they could usually do and were completely exhausted because of it.

And after Shao Cheng received an answer from the tired and sleepy purple dragon, he chose to directly ask the person himself rather than continuing to guess about the entire situation.

"Let me ask you this, why does a person from a different Empire want you dead? And who are you? If you don't honestly answer my question, I won't continue to treat you."

"Third Brother!"

"Little Cai, your friend's identity is suspicious. There is a high chance that he has come from another Empire. Do you want the enemies outside in the dark to use it as a reason to blame our Shao family as a potential traitor? There is a high chance that they will also use it as a reason to condemn our father's loyalty!"

Sorry, Cai but I cannot take a gamble on this man whose identity has just become more complicated.

Especially when Shao Cheng had honestly spoken about the main reason why the entire Shao Family's reputation and prestige were degraded in the previous life. Why their father's military rank as a Great General was taken away after being blamed for being in cohort with another Empire.

Blame that was planted upon them, fortunately though, there wasn't any strong evidence to prove that the Shao family was a traitor, or else, the entire Shao Family would have been executed.

After countless troubles and difficulties that appeared in the Shao Family, where most of the members met miserable circumstances one after another, everything was already too late to deal with the sudden problem.

The Shao Family's status, influence, reputation, and prestige had been destroyed, especially the respect and worship they had toward his father.

"Cai, you understand the danger that our family is facing, right? One wrong mistake and everyone's life will be in grave danger."

Younger brother, you have always been the one who first noticed and understood the situation of our family. There is a reason why among our family, you are the only one who managed to survive.

"..."

Shao Cheng knew that he was being hypocritical and selfish when speaking those words out, after all, associating with Ren Yuan was also another dangerous move that could lead to countless troubles and dangers for his family.

No one knew the main reason why he absolutely trusted Ren Yuan, putting all his faith upon him and remaining as his closest friend, which was all because of the memories in the previous life.

"... I won't instantly stop you from being friends with him. I just need to make sure that he isn't a danger. Little Cai, please understand."

Shao Cheng could only compromise after seeing the confusion, doubt, and sad expression on his younger brother's face. Particularly when he was seriously reminding himself that he also wanted to compensate his family for what he had done in the previous life.

I can't make them have a miserable and unhappy life again…

Suddenly, Shao Cheng felt helpless after finally figuring out that what he thought was the right decision and yet it would only lead to unhappiness to his family.

Particularly when he considered that his younger brother being with Lin Renshu simply wasn't the best course of action to take. That there were definitely other people better out there, and yet, it appeared that it wasn't what Shao Cai wanted.

What should I do? The cold-blooded way of making decision needed to be carefully examined before I can start acting upon it.

Shao Cheng was quite used to being in control of a situation, influencing people's actions, and commanding others to follow his lead and decision. Such years of attitude weren't that easy to change, especially when he didn't even know that he was doing it.

"Lin Renshu, if you really care about my younger brother, tell me what I need to know."

Suddenly, a deep sigh was released by the still pale-faced Lin Renshu causing everyone's attention to become more focused on his figure while the old servant stood by his side with a dangerous expression on his face.

At the same time, everyone could feel the heavy atmosphere surrounding them, which was coming from the hidden guards around the courtyard, who appeared to have doubled in numbers.

"... I know that I was born in the Chang Empire, but I'm not sure about my parents' true origin."

"The Lin is definitely a mid-rank aristocratic family in the Chang Empire!"

Lin Renshu smiled towards Shao Cai who replied with a confused expression on his face before turning his gaze towards the sharp and cold sapphire eyes and inwardly sighing at the other threatening grey pupils which are also focused on his figure.

"Ah, Little Cai, you see, the Lin family had taken me in at the age of five. Of course, they don't know that I clearly remember my early childhood memories. Especially the fact that my biological parents had disappeared and never came back after they went out during a certain night."

Lin Renshu still remembered the time when he was left alone, waking up without his parents in the house, with only a familiar person who was close to his parents suddenly appearing and acting as his caretaker for a month.

And after that, he was given a special jade, no letter left behind before being sent to the Lin family who was saved by the friend of his parents.

Just like what happened to his parents, the caretaker never appeared again, and no matter how much he tried to find him after building up power in order to figure out his parents' situation, there wasn't any clue that was found out.

"In my memories, my parents seemed to have serious circumstances. And I only understand that my illness has a relationship with my Mother."

Lin Renshu remembered how extremely worried his mother was about him also being affected by her problem, not knowing that he was conscious in her arms upon their usual afternoon naps.

Only after growing did he finally understand those memories are, which is also when the illness had suddenly appeared.

"Although I don't know my real identity, my loyalty definitely lies in the Chang Empire, after all, I was born and raised here. The people I care about also belong to the Chang Empire… Is this information about my life good enough to allow me to remain in Little Cai's side?"

Lin Renshu gently smiled toward a worried Litle Cai as a sort of comfort for a few seconds before swiftly returning back toward the silent Shao Cheng whose expression remained cold and indifferent, completely having not earned even an ounce of pity and sympathy after hearing the story of his life.

…. Ah, this young man completely deserves the description of having been known for his heartlessness all these years… If I'm able to live a long life, I already predicted the difficulties and hardship of receiving my future brother in law acceptance and approval, huh...