24: Let me deceive him and make him believe me.

The two walked one after the other, not saying another word the entire way.

Gaia followed Tu Nan, looking worried and hesitating to speak.

All of this fell into a pair of malicious eyes—it was Toke.

After the two passed by, he stuck his head out and pondered for a long while, revealing a sinister smile. Brushing the dust off his buttocks, he planned to find Li for a chat.

Gaia followed Tu Nan back to the cave; he didn't leave, nor did he speak.

Tu Nan didn't know what he wanted.

Did he want to tell Li that she had gone to see Gray without permission? Or was he trying to persuade her to settle down and stop making trouble?

"Are you planning to wait for Li to come back and tell him I went to see Gray behind his back?" Tu Nan asked him with a pitiful smile. "You men are truly united. I just wanted to make life here a bit smoother for Li and myself. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

She decided to play the victim first.

"I'm not doing that." Gaia felt somewhat helpless, staring at her with his round, puppy-like eyes.

"Your intentions aren't wrong, but where would that leave Li's Face? Gray will surely mock Li in private for letting a Foster Mother interfere in his life."

Tu Nan lowered her head. A Foster Mother... Even the seemingly honest Gaia saw her that way. Not to mention Li.

They wanted her to stay in her place and revolve around the bed.

Gaia scratched his head irritably, his dog tail swishing back and forth behind him.

"Li is capable and treats you quite well. You really don't need to worry too much. Look at what you eat and use; so many people here have it worse than you."

"And look at that bracelet you're wearing. Seriously, he even considered your safety very thoroughly." Gaia explained sincerely on Li's behalf.

Tu Nan remained silent.

She touched the pale gold bracelet on her hand, the "weapon" customized for her a few days ago.

It was crafted to look exactly like a delicate piece of jewelry. A tiny snake head sat like a ring Face on her left middle finger, from which two slender lines branched across the back of her hand to wrap around her wrist. The intricate patterns formed an oval ring, decorating her terminal.

That snake head could spit out three poison needles, each enough to paralyze a strong Male Beast.

After putting it on, Tu Nan indeed felt a bit more at ease.

Gaia was right; Li had truly put effort into her, and Tu Nan knew it. But... she never forgot the relationship between her and Li.

A transaction. Wasn't it?

"I know Li is good to me, I just wanted to help him. Who knew you all saw me that way... What should I do? Will Li abandon me if he finds out?"

Tears shimmered in Tu Nan's eyes.

"You... don't be like this... don't cry."

Gaia was a bit flustered. He knelt down, wanting to comfort Tu Nan but feeling he shouldn't reach out, sweat breaking out on his forehead from anxiety.

"I won't tell Li. This will be our secret, okay...?"

Bang!

The door was kicked open, and Li stood coldly at the entrance.

He looked at the two crouching in the corner of the room, his gaze icy.

Rage swirled around him.

"What secret can't you tell me?"

He stared intensely at Tu Nan. Seeing her shrink back, Li felt a pang of reluctance and turned to glare at Gaia instead.

Gaia quickly stood up, realizing the situation looked terrible.

"Ah, Li, you're back. It's nothing, we..."

He suddenly got stuck, unable to continue the lie.

A greasy voice came from behind. Toke poked his head out from behind Li, looked at the scene in the room, and clicked his tongue repeatedly, shaking his head.

He said to Li, "See what I told you... when a man entrusts his woman to a brother, things are bound to go wrong."

"Toke! Stop talking nonsense!"

Gaia reached out to grab that troublemaker, but Li directly reached out and clamped down on him.

Expressionless, Li gripped Gaia so hard that cold sweat instantly broke out on the latter. Li's other hand was already reaching for his waist.

Tu Nan pressed down on his hand and also held the hilt of his blade.

She pressed her whole body against Li, appearing heartbroken.

"Lord Li, aren't you going to ask me?"

"Are you going to condemn me without asking anything?"

Tu Nan looked up; in such a short time, her Face was already covered in tears.

She didn't sob, just let the tears flow silently and freely. It was as if Li's distrust had completely shattered her Soul, leaving her unaware that she was even crying.

Li's hand loosened.

He instinctively used his sleeve to wipe Tu Nan's tears, but halfway through, he lowered his hand in annoyance.

Standing there, Li's mind went somewhat blank.

"Get out!"

He finally managed to spit out that word.

Gaia opened his mouth to say something more, but seeing Tu Nan's tear-filled eyes, he wisely swallowed his words.

Full of worry, he left.

Toke, still oblivious to the gravity of the situation, kept blathering, "How can you let him go? You must find out what else is going on in private."

Li was fuming and didn't want any other noisy voices in his ears. He raised his leg and kicked Toke out.

Toke's cry of pain echoed as Li slammed the iron door shut, leaning against it with his head down, breathing heavily.

I can't back down, Tu Nan told herself.

Since she claimed she had done nothing, she wouldn't show any guilt.

So Tu Nan trotted back to Li's side and hugged one of his arms. She finally lost control and let out a small sob-hiccup, but that didn't stop her performance.

She squeezed herself into Li's arms, like a small beast afraid of being abandoned.

"Lord Li, what are you doubting?"

"You are my Nurturer. We Foster Mothers will never betray our nurturers; it's an iron law, you know that."

She looked at Li with feigned confusion, "And you are so good to me..."

Li looked at Tu Nan, his mind in a mess.

The scene he just witnessed and Tu Nan's words alternated in his mind. He was unsure whether to believe her, squeezing a sentence through his teeth.

"Then, what was that secret...?"

This was a concession; he was giving Tu Nan a chance to explain, and he felt pained by his own compromise.

"The secret..." Tu Nan stammered, "I just wanted to know if there's another exit. Didn't Gaia say he used to be part of the Guard here?"

Tu Nan didn't want to tell Li about going to see Gray, so she tried to cover it up with something else.

"I just... wanted to see if he knew..."

She looked up earnestly and said innocently to Li, "I'm sorry, Lord Li. After what you said that day, I was still afraid..."

So frank, and so innocent. This couldn't be the infidelity Toke spoke of.

But... Li also couldn't tolerate Tu Nan's lack of trust in him, and the fact that she tried to bypass him to seek help from another man.

Li thought resentfully as he hoisted Tu Nan onto his shoulder and strode forward. He threw her onto the iron bed and then heavily pressed his entire body down on her.

She deserved to be punished.