For several long moments nobody moved. The marketplace remained trapped in a suffocating silence. The duke's son stayed frozen on the ground barely daring to breathe while the cold edge of Jin Su's blade lingered near his crotch.
Sweat rolled down his face despite the freezing air surrounding him. Every instinct screamed that the next moment would decide his fate. The crowd watched nervously from a distance. No one dared interfere. No one even dared speak.
Then suddenly Luo He stepped back.
The pressure around the scene shifted almost instantly. Without warning he turned around and began walking away.
Calmly. Casually. As though he had already lost interest.
The duke's son stared at his retreating back in disbelief. His heartbeat thundered violently inside his chest. That was it? No final order? No execution? No torture?
The uncertainty terrified him far more than certainty ever could. Because now he no longer understood what Luo He was thinking. Jin Mulan glanced toward Luo He's back for only a brief moment before lowering her spear slightly and following after him without a word.
Her crimson robes swayed behind her while small traces of flame faded slowly around the spear tip. The duke's son watched her leave with widened eyes.
Confused. Relieved. Terrified. Then
Crack!
Su Kim's whip lashed forward suddenly like a striking serpent. The sound exploded across the marketplace. The strike landed hard across his chest tearing through skin and leaving behind a burning line of pain that forced a scream from his throat. "Aghhh!"
Before he could even recover Jin Su withdrew her blade smoothly and turned away as well. Her expression never changed. The frost around the ground slowly melted as she walked after Luo He with quiet elegance her ice-blue robes flowing behind her.
The duke's son looked utterly stunned now. His breathing became ragged. "What is wrong with these people?" he whispered shakily. Then came the final humiliation.
Su Kim stopped beside him briefly.
Looked down at him coldly. And drove a sharp kick into his balls before turning away. The impact folded his body instantly.
Pain exploded through him as he curled against the frozen stone coughing violently. Yet none of the women even looked back afterward. Not one word.
Not one threat.
Not final warning. They simply left. As though he was no longer important enough to acknowledge. That hurt his pride more than the beating itself.
The surrounding Jin guards quickly fell into formation behind their masters and departed silently as well their armored footsteps echoing across the street.
And just like that the terrifying confrontation ended. The duke's son remained lying there alone. Disheveled.
Shaking. Covered in dust and melting frost.
The once arrogant heir who strutted through the marketplace like a king now looked broken beneath the gazes of countless watching civilians. Whispers slowly spread through the crowd. Some mocking. Some horrified. Some fearful of the name Luo He.
But none dared approach the fallen noble immediately. Because even after Luo He had left it still felt as though danger remained hanging in the air.
"I don't suppose I need to tell you this won't be forgotten." Jin Mulan said calmly as they walked away from the marketplace. Her voice carried no panic, no hesitation.
"I assume you already knew that before acting." To anyone else the exchange would have sounded vague. But between the two of them very little needed to be spoken directly anymore.
After following Luo He for so long Jin Mulan had learned to read the intentions behind his silence, his expressions and even the direction of his gaze. Publicly they rarely explained things to one another. They simply understood.
And in truth it was more true for her than for him. Most of the time she simply followed his lead. Not blindly. But because experience had taught her that Luo He usually saw farther ahead than everyone else.
Luo He gave no answer. He merely continued walking calmly through the streets while the guards followed behind at a respectful distance. The silence itself was enough confirmation. Of course he knew retaliation would come.
That was why he had acted publicly in the first place. Fear only held value when witnessed. After returning to the mansion Luo He disappeared quietly without gathering everyone again.
The first person he went to see privately was Su Kim. She had already changed from her earlier attire and sat waiting quietly near the window when he entered.
The tension from the battle still lingered faintly in her expression though now mixed with something softer. Relief.
The moment she saw him some of the strength left her shoulders.
Luo He walked over casually and sat beside her. For a while they simply talked. Not about grand strategies. Not about enemies. Just small things.
The battle. The expressions on the crowd's faces.
How terrified the duke's son had looked by the end. At one point Su Kim quietly admitted that her hands had still been trembling slightly after it was over. Luo He laughed softly at that.
"You hid it well," he told her. She leaned closer afterward resting gently against his side while he allowed her to settle comfortably against his arm. There was no urgency between them. No dramatic passion. Only warmth. Security.
For now Su Kim truly felt protected rather than merely sheltered. That difference mattered more than she expected.
Luo He eventually lowered his head slightly and kissed her forehead while she remained quietly against him appreciating the simple comfort of being held by the man she had chosen to trust.
Outside the mansion remained lively with rumors and discussion about the confrontation. But inside that room for a little while everything felt calm again.
Even after the quiet moment between them ended Su Kim clearly did not want him to leave yet. The moment Luo He finally stood up from the bed she immediately reached for his sleeve.
Not forcefully. Just enough to stop him for another second. Her usually composed expression softened slightly as she looked up at him.
There was still lingering tension hidden beneath her calm exterior and now that she finally had him beside her again she seemed unwilling to let that warmth disappear so quickly.
Luo He noticed immediately. And naturally he found it amusing. "You're making that face again," he said lightly.
Su Kim turned away slightly pretending not to understand.
"I don't know what you mean." She said.
But she clearly did. Despite her normally cold and elegant demeanor Su Kim was surprisingly skilled at acting pitifully adorable when she wanted something from him.
A slight tug on his sleeve. A softer voice.
A quiet look from beneath lowered lashes. None of it excessive. Which somehow made it even more effective.
At one point she even tried bargaining shamelessly with sex just to keep him there longer.
Luo He only laughed quietly at her attempts. "So this is your strategy now?"
Su Kim refused to answer directly though the faint color rising to her face betrayed her embarrassment. She simply stayed close beside him clearly hoping he would change his mind and remain for the night.
Unfortunately for her Luo He still had too many matters left to handle. No amount of acting cute was going to completely derail his plans. Though it came dangerously close.
In the end all her efforts earned her was Luo He leaning down to give her a long gentle kiss before pulling her into a brief embrace.
One of his hands rested against her head afterward lightly brushing through her hair in a surprisingly affectionate gesture.
"There there," he said calmly.
"Now is my little girl ready to let daddy go back to work?" He asked with the lowered voice he uses to talk with his daughter. Su Kim looked up at him silently. Clearly not satisfied at all.
Which only made Luo He laugh again.
Even so her expression had softened considerably compared to before. The unease she carried earlier was mostly gone now.
And as Luo He finally walked toward the door Su Kim remained sitting quietly on the bed watching him leave still wrapped in the lingering warmth of his attention.