At this moment in the secret chamber, the operating table and all the Petri dishes had been destroyed by the explosion, reduced to ashes, scorched as they were. Yet, Bi Xia and Ji Qiutang remained unharmed.

Ji Qiutang was slightly taken aback, "Did you use spiritual power?"

"No," Bi Xia replied lightly, "My spiritual power is not for defense."

Saying this, Bi Xia slowly propped himself up, his expression indifferent as he revealed the little boy he had protected underneath him. The boy, who should have been unconscious, now stared wide-eyed and spiritedly at him.

With arms supporting the ground, Bi Xia looked down at the naked child, his starry eyes scanning him lightly, and after a moment, said, "It was you, wasn’t it?"

As if he didn’t understand Bi Xia’s question, the child reacted sluggishly, tilting his head slightly. His eyes appeared somewhat hollow, perhaps because the first thing he saw was Bi Xia, or maybe because Bi Xia was the one who cradled and protected him.

Even if the child didn’t grasp the meaning of Bi Xia’s words or understand the situation he was in, he still carefully extended his dusty little arm, gently tugged at Bi Xia’s coat, and gradually hid his arm inside it, hugging Bi Xia’s waist.

Bi Xia: ...

Ji Qiutang: ...

Ji Qiutang stroked his chin, half-squinting his clear eyes, "Could it be this child is actually a little girl?"

"Are you blind?" Bi Xia glared at Ji Qiutang, making room for the child to come out from under him, "See for yourself, it’s got a little thing!"

Ji Qiutang: ...

"Tsk, don’t be so crude," Ji Qiutang chuckled, "I was just thinking maybe the boy is actually a girl, trying to take advantage of our Little Nine here."

"Are you crazy? He’s way too young to understand taking advantage."

Bi Xia supported himself with one hand on the ground, while the other scooped up the child’s waist, lifting him up firmly, then sat down on the ground, one leg supporting him, the other folded across the ground, making the child sit on his leg.

Feeling the child’s cold body with his little hand, and seeing the naked child before him, Bi Xia raised his eyes to look at Ji Qiutang and reached out his hand, "Give it to me."

Ji Qiutang raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Your coat."

Ji Qiutang laughed, "No, I have a cleanliness habit and won’t give my clothes to someone I don’t know." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"The child is naked now!"

"Still no, it’s my principle." Ji Qiutang continued to laugh, as if treating it as a joke, but seeing Ji Qiutang unmoving, Bi Xia was certain he wouldn’t remove his coat.

Rolling his eyes expressionlessly, "The child saved you for nothing."

"In other words, we saved him first, giving him the chance to save us, right?"

Bi Xia really couldn’t understand why Ji Qiutang had so many twisted philosophies, and at this moment, Ji Qiutang seemed to have truly stripped away his facade of being a gentleman, showing his despicable true nature.

Tired of dealing with Ji Qiutang, Bi Xia let the child hug him, raised his arms, took off his black coat to reveal the camouflage vest underneath, ignoring Ji Qiutang’s gaze behind him, and swiftly dressed the child in his coat.

He lifted the child, letting him stand on the ground, and got up, half-kneeling, zipping up the jacket. When he reached the child’s heart area, where a whitish scar turned red, Bi Xia paused, seeing the stitches still there, his brow tightly knitted, "Ji Qiutang, look."

"What is it?" Ji Qiutang responded softly, withdrawing his gaze from the boy.

Suddenly, a small hand tugged at his clothes hem, looking up he met with those dazzling starry eyes, the boy looking serious, "Look, is the child’s wound inflamed?"

Ji Qiutang paused, stepped forward to squat down, stealthily tugged the lifted vest corner behind the boy, then turned his gaze to the child’s wound.

Frowning slightly, "It is indeed inflamed, we need to get out quickly."