Wu Ying hugged her into his arms, and said softly, "Mo Mo, you don't need to worry about these things, I will take care of them."
Su Mo nestled in his arms without saying a word.
She didn't belong here. How could she tell Wu Ying?
She had no idea when she would disappear from here.
Su Mo suddenly thought of something she had seen online before:
"If you were destined not to end up with this person, but you love them very much, would you choose the process of loving them, or would you just walk away?"
It was a controversial choice that sparked much debate.
If it was Su Mo, she would definitely choose the process.
What choice would Wu Ying make if he knew she would eventually leave?
In the past few days, the aftermath of the Bai family had also been taken care of.
For those who had relatives, Bai Yunhan would have people claim the bodies and compensate the families of the deceased.
For those without relatives, they were all buried in the back mountain of the Bai family.
Su Mo stood in front of Yi's grave, her eyes brimming with tears.
Yi resembled her younger brother. She had always treated him like a brother.
Yet he died right in front of Su Mo. It was the first time she had experienced such loss here.
Wu Ying lowered his eyes next to her and stepped forward to burn incense for Yi.
Perhaps because he had seen too many dead people, there was no emotional upheaval in his heart. But seeing Su Mo so sad made him feel a little distressed too.
"Miss Su..." Bai Yunhan walked over. "Yi planted a lot of chili peppers in the Bai family yard. I heard they were for you."
"I know... Young Master Bai, please ask someone to take care of them."
"Alright." Bai Yunhan agreed and left.
Wu Ying came over and held Su Mo's hand. "Mo Mo, you..."
"I treated him like a brother, like my own brother." Su Mo sobbed. "Back in my hometown, I also have a brother who looks a lot like him."
"I...don't know how to comfort you..."
He had always been the one killing people. When had he ever comforted those who lost their loved ones? He had never sympathized with them either.
"I'm fine." Su Mo wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Let's go..."
Su Mo and Wu Ying left the back mountain of the Bai family together. They stopped by the Bai family residence, where they saw in the backyard the chili peppers that Yi had planted. They were growing very well.
She also went to Yi's room and saw the writing brush, ink stick, paper and ink stone she had given to Yi, all neatly placed on the table.
A painting was pressed under a paperweight. Su Mo removed the paperweight and picked up the painting to take a look.
It was a painting of her, wearing red clothes, vivid and lifelike, with a blossoming smile.
It was the outfit she had worn when she went out on the street with Yi for the first time to buy him candy floss on a stick. Judging from the exquisite detail of the painting, down to every strand of hair, he must have spent a long time on it, and it was almost complete.
This was originally meant to be a gift from Yi to Su Mo, but in the end, the painting was never given.
Although Wu Ying felt somewhat uneasy when he saw the painting, he didn't say anything. After all, Yi was dead.
Su Mo rolled up the painting, preparing to take it away.
But Wu Ying came over and took the painting from Su Mo's hand. "Mo Mo, can you give this to me? I will take good care of it."
Su Mo thought for a moment, then handed the painting to Wu Ying. "Then I'll give it to you. You must take good care of it."
"Mm."
The two were about to leave the Bai residence when Wu Ying suddenly said, "Mo Mo, why don't you go back to Four Beauties Pavilion first. I have something to discuss with Bai Yunhan."
Su Mo looked at him puzzled. "What is it about?"
Wu Ying didn't hide it. "It's about the treasure map."
"You still want to get the treasure map?" Su Mo frowned. "Is this treasure map a must for you? If I asked you to give up on the treasure map, would you?"
Wu Ying looked at her. He had promised the Dark Cabinet leader to find the remaining three pieces of the treasure map within half a year in exchange for his freedom. That was the only reason he let Wu Ying leave the Dark Cabinet.
If he didn't obediently listen, he would be hunted down by everyone in the Dark Cabinet, ceaselessly. And they wouldn't spare Su Mo and her friends either.
"Mo Mo, I must find the treasure map to be with you properly!" Wu Ying said solemnly.
"What do you mean?" Su Mo asked, puzzled.
"The leader of the Dark Cabinet already has one piece of the treasure map. As long as I find the remaining three pieces, he will give me my freedom."
After hearing his words, Su Mo was stunned.
"So... if you don't bring the treasure map back to the Dark Cabinet, your leader won't let you off?"
Wu Ying looked at her and said firmly, "Yes, so I must find them."
Su Mo let go of Wu Ying's hand. She was somewhat flustered for a moment. The treasure map concerned whether they could return, but it also concerned Wu Ying's life and death.
Everyone thought the Dark Cabinet leader would pass his position to Wu Ying. But only Wu Ying knew he was merely a pawn in the leader's hands.
The Dark Cabinet leader created the illusion of favoring and relying on Wu Ying simply to shift people's wary gaze onto Wu Ying.
"Mo Mo, what's wrong?" Wu Ying was puzzled by Su Mo's reaction.
"Nothing... Go talk to Bai Yunhan. I'll head back to Four Beauties Pavilion first." After speaking, Su Mo immediately turned and ran out of the Bai residence.
Wu Ying frowned. He felt Su Mo's reaction was a bit off.
Back at Four Beauties Pavilion, Su Mo didn't see Sang Li at the counter.
She immediately went into the room behind the counter and saw Xia Miaomiao making drinks.
"Miaomiao, where did Sister Li go?" Su Mo asked.
"Oh, I think Sister Li had something to do and went out with Yu Yifan," Xia Miaomiao replied.
"Where did they go?"
Xia Miaomiao shook the drink in her hand. "I think they went to the gambling house. They said they were going to find Gu Zhi's elder brother. Mo Mo, did you need Sister Li for something?"
"Yeah... Miaomiao, let me ask you a question."
"What is it?"
"If... the interests of the person you like conflict with your interests and your best friend's interests, whose side would you take?"
"Hmm... it depends on what it is about."
"It's a matter of life and death!"
"Ah?" Xia Miaomiao was shocked. "That serious? You should ask Sister Li instead. She's more rational!"
Su Mo sighed and walked out.
At that moment, Sang Li and Yu Yifan had just arrived at the gambling house.
It was very crowded inside, almost all men, noisy and boisterous.
"Sister Li, look, that's the person," Yu Yifan pointed to a skinny man in coarse hemp clothes.
"I've been asking around these past few days. This person is called Zhu Mu. He has no family. After his parents died, he lived off their inheritance and spent all his time gambling here. He still hasn't married or had children."