CHAPTER 84: CHAPTER 84; TRAGIC INCIDENT 1

And buried in the preliminary report was a name that made his stomach drop.

Chen Ting, a prominent businessman, and an unidentified male passenger were killed instantly when their vehicle crashed and exploded on Highway 7 at approximately 5:47 PM...

Lu Yuze’s eyes slowly lifted from his phone to the sleeping woman on his couch.

She looked peaceful. Innocent. Like she was having pleasant dreams.

But he knew, knew with absolute certainty, what she’d just done. Her eyes had glowed with a reason.

Chen Ting had threatened her. Had come to Lu Yuze’s home demanding to reclaim the woman Shuyin had promised to protect.

And now he was dead.

Not murdered in any way that could be proven. No weapons, no witnesses, no evidence of foul play beyond a tragic car accident that could happen to anyone driving too fast in the dark.

But Lu Yuze knew.

His wife, this strange, cold creature he’d married to save his daughter, had just killed two men with her mind. From three kilometers away. While appearing to sleep on his couch.

"Master?" Ah-Ling had also received the news alert. His face was pale as he looked between his phone and the sleeping Shuyin. "Is this..."

"Go check on Mrs. Chen," Lu Yuze said quietly. "Tell her... tell her she’s safe now. That her husband can’t hurt her anymore. But don’t tell her how. Not yet."

"Yes, Master." Ah-Ling moved toward the side corridor, then paused. "Master, should we be... concerned?"

"About what?"

"About the fact that the Missus can apparently kill people with her thoughts while sleeping?"

Lu Yuze looked at his daughter, sleeping peacefully on her couch. Looked at his wife, who’d saved Yuyan’s life when no one else could. Who’d promised to protect Chen Wan and had just made good on that promise in the most permanent way possible.

"No," he said finally. "We shouldn’t be concerned. We should be grateful we’re on her side. If we were her enemy, then things could have turned out awfully for us."

Ah-Ling nodded slowly, then disappeared down the corridor.

Lu Yuze picked up his phone again, reading through the developing news story. Already, reporters were speculating about the cause of the crash. Excessive speed. Possible driver impairment. Mechanical failure.

No one would ever suspect the truth.

That a woman had been sleeping on a couch three kilometers away and had simply... decided the threat needed to be eliminated.

And made it so.

His phone buzzed again. This time it was a message from one of his security team’s monitors:

(Master, local police scanner indicates multiple fatalities in vehicle accidents on Highway 7. Victims identified as Chen Ting and male associates. Bodies severely burned. The coroner called from the scene. Appears to be a straightforward traffic accident, excessive speed, loss of control. No investigation beyond standard procedures anticipated.)

Lu Yuze set his phone down and rubbed his face with both hands.

He’d married a woman who could kill with her mind.

Who could manipulate water and temperature?

Whose eyes glowed and who spoke about humans as if she weren’t one.

Who was currently sleeping peacefully on his couch like a normal person.

"What have I gotten myself into?" he worriedly muttered.

From her couch, without opening her eyes, Shuyin’s lips curved into the faintest smile.

"Something interesting," she murmured, so quietly he almost missed it. "Finally, something interesting."

Then she was silent again, leaving Lu Yuze to contemplate his new reality.

He was married to a killer.

A supernatural, impossibly powerful killer who had just eliminated a threat to her ward without leaving a single piece of evidence.

And instead of being terrified...

He found himself oddly reassured.

Because if Shuyin could do that to Chen Ting, a man who’d threatened someone under her protection, what would she do to anyone who threatened Yuyan?

Or him?

The answer was both terrifying and comforting.

She would destroy them.

Utterly. Completely. Without mercy or hesitation.

And in a world where his daughter had been poisoned by unknown enemies, where threats could come from anywhere, having a weapon like Shuyin on his side suddenly seemed less like a dangerous gamble and more like the smartest decision he’d ever made.

Lu Yuze picked up his magazine again, though he still couldn’t focus on the words.

Outside, emergency vehicles raced toward the accident scene, their sirens wailing in the distance.

Inside, two women slept peacefully, and a man slowly came to terms with the monster he’d married.

And decided he was okay with that.

More than okay, actually.

Because sometimes, to protect your family from monsters, you need to become allied with an even bigger monster.

And Shuyin, he was learning, was the biggest monster of all.

The news spread like wildfire through the city’s elite circles.

In a matter of minutes, every major news outlet was running the story: Prominent Businessman Chen Ting Dies in Fiery Highway Crash. Social media exploded with speculation, condolences, and the inevitable conspiracy theories that always followed when someone wealthy and powerful died all of a sudden.

But nowhere was the impact more immediate and devastating than in the Chen family compound on the eastern side of the city.

The Chen Family Compound - 5:58 PM

The Chen patriarch, Chen Guowei, Chen Ting’s father and the founder of Chen Industries, was in his study room when his phone rang. He was a man in his late sixties, silver-haired and distinguished, with the kind of presence that commanded respect and fear in equal measure.

He answered without looking at the caller ID, expecting it to be one of his sons with a business update.

"What is it?"

"Master Chen..." The voice on the other end was that of his head of security, and it was shaking. "I... I have terrible news. It’s Young Master Ting. There’s been an accident. He’s... he’s gone, sir."

The glass of expensive whiskey Chen Guowei had been holding slipped from his fingers, shattering on the hardwood floor. "What did you just say?"