Chloe was equally terrified.
She clutched the blanket tightly around herself and instinctively shrank back.
"Fyren!"
Fyren tried to reassure her, "It's all right, I'll handle this! Sherry, what are you doing?"
Tears welled up in Sherry's eyes as she asked, "Did you use a stone to ambush our young lord?"
"What!?"
Fyren thought this girl was really not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Who in their right mind would sit on someone's windowsill like a ghost in the middle of the night!
I'm in here... going about my business, and you have the audacity to sit there!
And you're a girl, for heaven's sake! Don't you know to avoid situations that might spark suspicion!?
Yet here you are, brandishing a sword that looks ready to kill, crying your eyes out!
Who could make sense of someone like that!?
Fyren's anger flared: "Why aren't you home sleeping at this hour? What are you doing perched on our windowsill?"
"The young lord ordered me to protect you."
Fyren thought to himself, If I could make sense of that, I'd be your father!
"Protect me!? So... Otto sent you?"
"Watch your tongue! You should call him elder brother or senior brother!"
Sherry cast a cold glance at Chloe, who was barely dressed, and 哼了一声: "Hmph, you shameless woman."
Fyren pointed at her: "Sherry, don't push it! Let me tell you, I'm not someone to be trifled with!"
With a swish, Sherry drew her sword: "What do you want!?"
Fyren froze, his mind going blank for a moment. Then he forced a laugh: "Nothing, nothing. Calm down! Just calm down!"
He turned to Chloe and said, "Chloe, you... go on out first. Rest in the guest room. I'll have a word with her."
Chloe whispered, "Be careful. She seems upset, not quite herself."
"I know."
Chloe left.
Fyren grabbed his clothes and pulled them on: "Sis, you come to my place in the middle of the night—you're not here to kill me, are you?"
[Oh no! Is Otto going to make a move on me now?]
[I started the shantytown project, brought in several major families. If I die now, the entire economy of Crystalpeak City will collapse! Does he really intend to go down with the ship?]
[I should have asked Silver King to stay and protect me!]
"Stop your nonsense. I'm here to protect you!"
"Protect me!?"
Sherry sheathed her sword, executed a graceful spinning flourish with it, and landed lightly with a final flourish.
But her expression had turned serious and icy.
"The young lord said that from now on, I am to stay close and protect you."
Fyren seethed with anger.
[Damn it, that bastard Otto! This isn't protection—it's clearly sending someone to spy on me!]
Sherry flew into a rage, slamming the sword scabbard down on Fyren's shoulder: "Dare to insult my young lord again, and I'll kill you!"
Fyren jumped, thinking to himself:
[Can she read my mind too!?]
[Does this damn girl have telepathy?]
But Sherry was different from others—she wasn't all that sharp.
A part of her spiritual awareness was sealed, making her words and actions unlike those of ordinary people.
If this woman lost control of her emotions, Fyren's life would likely be in jeopardy.
With his life hanging in the balance, Fyren had no time to dwell on such thoughts. He quickly said:
"No, no. He's my elder brother! My senior disciple too—I respect him greatly."
"Good."
Fyren looked at Sherry, scratching his head. "But... why would my senior brother send you to protect me?"
"He said you're his sworn brother, his junior disciple, the most important person in his world. That's why he sent me to protect you."
Fyren nearly laughed out loud.
[This guy must have an ulterior motive! Protect me? More like he's sent someone to keep an eye on me!]
[But... if he wanted to monitor me, he should've sent Sabrina! She's good at all that seductive stuff. Why send this dimwitted girl instead?]
"Are you calling me stupid again in your head? Are you?"
Sherry suddenly flew into a frenzy, jabbing the sword sheath at Fyren once more. "I'm warning you, I'm really angry right now. If you call me stupid, I won't be nice to you!"
"No, no, no, I definitely didn't!"
"Yes, you did! I heard every word!"
Fyren paid no heed to her claims, dismissing them as the ravings of a girl with a unstable mind.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Is that better? Now, what else did my elder brother tell you?"
"He..."
Sherry's thoughts turned to how the young lord had cast her aside, and a wave of grief washed over her. Tears spilled down her cheeks like shattered beads.
"He told me to protect you, just like I protected him. He even made me swear a poisonous oath—swear to protect you with all my strength, take care of you, obey your every command, treat you like a master, treat you as I would him... Waaah... I'd do anything for the young lord, but... Waaah..."
Fyren nodded, understanding dawning.
"Is my elder brother doing alright now?"
Sherry hung her head and shook it. "Not really. Someone threw stones from above. I pushed him out of the way and dodged a small one, but he got hit by a big one."
Fyren mused, "You pushed him aside, dodged a small stone, and then... he took the hit from the big one... Hmm, I think I'm starting to get it."
"The young lord is kind-hearted and loyal to you. I hope you can understand his feelings."
Fyren smiled. "Let's get this straight. Did he make you swear an oath?"
"Yes."
"To protect me?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"To take care of me?"
"So what if I did?"
"And to follow my orders?"
"Are you trying to annoy me?"
"So, from now on, you're my personal bodyguard?"
"What are you getting at?"
Sherry knew Fyren was clever, and she secretly feared smart people. If it were the young lord, she'd say nothing, but Fyren... who knew what sneaky plans he was hatching?
Fyren burst into laughter. "Senior Brother is too good to me, hahaha! Ahahaha!"
"You... what are you laughing at?" Sherry asked, puffing out her cheeks.
"Nothing!"
"You look so scheming. You must be up to something bad."
"I..."
In the bathroom, Fyren splashed water on his face, having already pieced everything together. Though Sherry was Otto's personal bodyguard, she'd recently caused him to suffer losses on several occasions.
Otto had finally hit his limit today, so he'd cooked up this scheme to let her plague me.
She was a walking disaster. Otto had endured no end of trouble because of this fool of a girl, and now he was foisting her off on me—obviously trying to use this dimwit to make my life miserable.
I absolutely couldn't let him get away with it!
Absolutely not!
...
At that moment.
Three Black-Clad Guards, flanked by two assistants, were lurking at the base of the wall outside Fyren's villa.
The three guards wore masks, their voices altered as they spoke.
"Leader, there don't seem to be any security measures around here. Just a few guards patrolling the villa complex."
The leader nodded. "The Helmsman's been in a foul mood lately, looking worn out. He ordered us to break Fyren's legs, but leave him alive."
One assistant piped up, "Leader, when's payday? We're all starving over here."
Even behind his mask, Barry's irritation was palpable to the two assistants.
"Pay, pay... Remember who you are! You're the Black-Clad Guards of the Mighty Syndicate! Killers and thieves! Do you think we only draw blood when our pockets are lined?"
The two assistants hung their heads, abashed.
Barry snapped at them, "The finance department already reported the pay issue to the Helmsman. He's taking it seriously—doing everything he can to think like we do, act in our best interest. What's the rush?"
One of the killers grumbled, "This assassin gig... it's so unprofessional. Can't even guarantee we get paid on time."
"Enough of your nonsense!" Barry shot back. "We need to stay strategically focused, have faith in the branch's business model and sustainable development. Do your jobs, ease the boss's worries! If every hitman only cares about money, what makes us better than those fly-by-night assassin rings?"
"Are they richer than us?"
"Think you're clever, huh?" Barry sighed. "You need to cut the leadership some slack. They're struggling. Word is, they've even started selling their own bodies to pay our wages—now they're hobbling around because of it. Right now, our top priority is to get the job done."
"Is Fyren's leg worth thirty grand?"
"Thirty million!?" Barry retorted. "Look at you lot—don't you know who Fyren is? He's the eldest son of the Zhangs, the top family in Crystalpeak City. A billionaire—trillionaire, even! His leg's worth at least a few hundred million!"
"So once we wrap this up, we'll get paid?"
"Yep." Barry said. "Quit jawing. Once we're in, find Fyren, snap both legs, take a photo, and report back to the Helmsman! Maybe he'll be in a good mood and slip each of us a red envelope with ten or eight grand."
"Hell yeah! Boss, what are we waiting for? Let's go in and pound him!"
"Alright! Stay in formation, make it clean. The tougher things get, the more we need to show the Helmsman our value!"
"Got it!"
The three sneaked in cautiously.
…
Sherry was crouched on the stairs between the living room and hallway, whittling a piece of wood with a small knife. Each cut was made with a pout of frustration, her expression rather endearing. She turned her head, annoyed. "Hey! You've been in the bathroom forever! How much longer?"
Fyren shouted from inside, "Almost done, almost done!"
Sherry went back to carving, muttering grumpily, "Why do I have to follow this big villain? He's full of tricks—I'm no match for him."
"He knows I'm not that smart, yet he still makes me tail him!"
"Let me kill him, that'd make sense."
"Let me follow him, but he's too clever."
"Now I don't know what to do! Life's so hard… why am I so stupid?"
"I'm so mad! I don't know where to put all this anger!"
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! If only some big bad guys showed up right now, I could hack them to pieces and feel so much better!"
At that moment, the three had already slipped in from different angles. The leader was with one subordinate.
"Leader, I don't see Fyren. That little girl's over there muttering to herself. Should we tie her up? She looks good—we brothers could have some fun, hehe."
The leader chuckled. "Brother, knock her out and take her with us when we leave."
"Got it!"
The young man perked up, pulling a short bamboo tube from his waist pouch and blowing toward Sherry. A tiny poisoned needle shot toward her neck.
Sherry suddenly looked up, drawing her sword halfway from its sheath. The glinting white blade just managed to block the needle, a sharp clink and spark echoing as metal met metal.
"Who's there?!"
The two froze. So alert! A master! They decided to go all out, hurling all their hidden weapons at her.
What happened next took them by surprise.
Sherry moved like lightning, sword in hand, leaping and twisting. Her slender, graceful form was fierce and swift, her blade swatting away countless hidden weapons. In a flash, she spun around and appeared behind the two, her long sword already extended from behind, pressed against one henchman's throat.